


Infiltrations

by Hester_Of_Ravenswood, TheLonelyDraconequus



Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No Smut, No enabler, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 23,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23350495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hester_Of_Ravenswood/pseuds/Hester_Of_Ravenswood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyDraconequus/pseuds/TheLonelyDraconequus
Summary: I'm back at it again, much to everyone's disappointment. I've got more ships up my sleeves, and a plot that actually kinda makes sense! Go me!Side note: No smut, no enabler, you get the drill. Neither of those things will ever be in the story!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Ilia Amitola/Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan/Ciel Soleil, Penny Polendina/Winter Schnee
Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661938
Comments: 127
Kudos: 98





	1. Apology

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like maybe I haven't been nice enough when it comes to fluff, so I'm gonna give you a nice chapter real quick! Sorry it's short!

Ruby stretched as she awoke, causing Blake to have to move her head to avoid getting hit in the face by wayward arms. Ruby blinked tiredly, feeling oddly warm. She glanced behind her and was surprised to find Blake still sitting there, holding her gently.

"Did I almost hit you?"

Blake nodded.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said, burrowing closer to her and setting her head against Blake's chest. She listened to the steady pounding of Blake's heart, finding comfort in the predictable repetition of beats.

Blake laughed quietly and Ruby could feel the slow build up of a purr in her girlfriend's chest.

She grinned, leaning up and awkwardly twisting so that she could connect their lips.

Blake smiled into the kiss, running a hand lovingly down Ruby's back.

The kiss wasn't like it was when they had first starting dating. It was slow and gentle, the feeling of kissing one another a familiar but still highly enjoyable sensation. Blake purred against her lips and Ruby laughed, pulling back. Blake smiled down lovingly at her, and Ruby saw movement to her right.

Weiss was curled up against Blake and Yang, having fallen asleep earlier due to her highly drained Aura. She stirred now, looking at Ruby with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought that you'd be trying to take full advantage of this, since you keep saying you never get to do relationship things," Yang said to the side.

Ruby remembered saying that, and the idea seemed so foreign to her now. Of course they did relationship things! They protected each other, they cared for one another... sure it wasn't typical couple things, but for Ruby it was somehow more. That's not to say that she didn't want to _try_ some of those couple things.

"You're right!" Ruby said excitedly, "We should go out on a date!"

"Uh, Rubes, we're all wanted."

Ruby slumped, losing her enthusiasm.

Weiss smacked Yang in the arm.

"Then we should stay _in_ on a date," Blake suggested.

Ruby perked up, grinning.

"You mean in this dirty warehouse?"

"Yes."

"Sounds great!" Ruby said.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but the excitement was almost palpable.

"But not today, because I'm tired," Weiss said.

Ruby laughed, snuggling closer to Blake and making her grunt in surprise.

The faunus smiled thinly as Ruby's eyes fluttered shut again, and she put her head on the team leader's shoulder. The brief stint of team RWBY being awake came to an end, and the four lay in a big pile.

"They're so cute!" Nora said, barely keeping her voice down.

"They're disgusting," Jaune said, making a face.

Ilia smacked his arm, and the team leader jumped, surprised at her lack of timidity. She smiled at him, and he met it with a grin of his own.

"Listen to your girlfriend, Jaune, they're adorable."

Ilia heard her scroll buzz, and she pulled it out of her pocket. An unfamiliar number was calling, and she considered not answer. She did anyways.

"Hello?"

"Is this Ilia?"

She recognized the voice instantly.

"Oh! Yes! Let me give you to Pyrrha," she said, handing the scroll to her girlfriend quickly.

Pyrrha grinned and held up a finger to tell her friends she'd be a moment, walking off to talk to her mother.

Qrow watched the children as they talked and joked, some even asleep.

He'd thought it all hopeless, but now, looking at all of them... he changed his mind.

He sighed, turning away from them all. He had work to do, and Winter had sent him a message two minutes ago, meaning he was behind schedule.

After all, she would need some help distracting Ironwood.


	2. Revenge

Emerald pulled out her scroll, sending a one word message to Tyrian, Watts, and Mercury.

 _Atlas_.

She put up her scroll and walked into the Argus military base. It was mostly empty, as the majority of its workers were out consoling and checking on different citizens.

This made it easy for Emerald to walk through unheeded. One or two guards had tried to stop her, but they'd certainly not be a problem ever again. She'd piled their bodies up in a store room, hoping they wouldn't be found for a few days and give away that someone had gone through. It also made her almost laugh at the idea of a maintenance worker finding the bodies randomly.

She stalked through the halls until she found the room she wanted, smiling crookedly as she saw the airship in its hanger. It was likely one of the only ones, if not the only, that hadn't been used against the Grimm from earlier, as evident from its lack of dents and, upon further inspection from Emerald as she took a seat in the pilot's chair, it had a full tank of fuel.

She smirked and started it up, not bothering to search for how to open the hanger door. She summoned some spears, as she'd seen Cinder do in the past, and shot them at the hanger. They exploded on impact. She'd given up on anonymity, it seemed, and a cruel smirk grew on her lips as she guided the airship out of the hanger.

She would have her revenge.

Oh, she would indeed.


	3. Setting the Stage

"It's good to have you back, Winter," Ironwood said.

"And it's good to be back."

"I assume it was your sister and her unruly friends that kidnapped you?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't worry, I have the Ace-Ops searching for them."

"Are you certain they could defeat them? After all, they did beat the Ace-Ops once, did they not?" Winter asked.

Ironwood rubbed his beard, and Winter barely stopped herself from smirking.

"I suppose that is true."

"If you'll let me, sir, I would like to suggest that you allow an associate of mine to aid them."

"And who might that be?"

"Qrow Branwen, sir."

"Isn't he related to Ruby and Yang?"

"With all due respect, sir, family isn't everything. I'm here, after all, and not with my sister."

Ironwood considered. His Ace-Ops had been spread thin for quite some time days, keeping order in Atlas as well as searching for the wanted criminals all over.

"Call him. We need all the help we can get."

"Of course, sir, and, if I may, I would assume that the criminals are still in Argus, as that is where I last saw them."

Ironwood shook his head.

"They've been spotted on Atlas security cameras, though I'm not sure where they've gone since."

Winter nodded, keeping her panic at bay. That was certainly not a part of the plan, but perhaps they could use it to their advantage.

Ironwood left, unceremoniously, which surprised Winter, as he had always been one for protocol. He was losing it.

Winter pulled out her scroll, sending a message to Qrow and telling him to meet her at the front gates. She sent another one to an unnamed number in her scroll, in case it was checked, with the simple message of spotted.

Weiss would understand what it meant, and she wouldn't respond. They couldn't communicate forthright, considering the fact that Ironwood wouldn't be above checking her scroll. Their only form of communication would likely come in the form of Neo, would could and had sneaked in and out of the Atlas security. She could go to the warehouse, in the form of anyone, and then sneak back in with her messages for team CFVY and Winter.

Qrow arrived a few minutes later, and he walked inside, keeping pace with Winter, who strode with her arms carefully folded behind her back.

"You were seen on the cameras," she muttered.

"We were? Where?"

"I don't know. You'll probably find out for yourself in a few minutes."

"Why?"

"You're helping the Ace-Ops."

"I am?"

"You are."

"Aren't those the annoying stick in the muds that Ruby talked about?"

"Likely, knowing her. But they're going to be your best friends for the next few days."

"I love them like family already."

"More than family. Your family means nothing to you here, remember that."

"You must be good at that."

Winter glared at him out of the corner of her eye, and he snickered.

She considered for a moment before she pulled out her scroll. As she typed, Qrow watched her, looking as if he was nervous she would send something she shouldn't.

Don't forget Frosty.

She slid her scroll back into her pocket, continuing her walk though the halls with Qrow.

Fox passed by, and Winter pretended to be distracted by her conversation with Qrow.

She bumped into the student, and Winter reached out her hands to steady him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Winter said.

She slid a piece of paper into his hand.

"Yeah, watch where you're going, cause I sure can't," he said before walking off. He put the paper in his pocket.

Presumably, he would pass it onto Neo so that she could tell everyone else what was going on tonight.

-

Weiss stared at her scroll and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, stepping up beside her girlfriend worriedly.

"We were seen on the cameras," Weiss said offhandedly, "And... Winter wants me to check up on Whitley."

"Your brother? Why? How?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, I guess because he doesn't have our father to kiss up to anymore," Weiss said, frustrated.

"Are you sure you're ready to go back there?" Blake asked.

"Are you sure we can go back there?" Yang said, knowing they weren't supposed to leave the warehouse.

"I can't go. I'm obviously far too recognizable... but if there was someone that nobody would notice...," she trailed off and she looked across the room.

Oscar looked up, frowning at her.

"Is something wrong, Weiss?" he asked.

She considered for a moment.

"Would you be open to doing me a favor?"

-

Neo grabbed the paper out of Coco's hand, shooting her a wink that made her roll her eyes, and slid the paper into her pocket.

She walked down the hall and into the balcony, seeing four others standing outside. She leaned against the railing, trying to look as if she was enjoying the view, which would be believable considering they were on top of a floating city.

When the students had ambled back inside, she flipped over the balcony, shifting forms as she dropped, adopting the look of a guard she had seen leave earlier.

She walked to the gates, tipping her hat at the other guards, and strode out into the street. Once, she'd reached the first corner, she turned into the form of a small child and took off at a sprint. A child running down the street wouldn't be very suspicious, and she wanted to get there soon.

-

Qrow was led into the room with Winter, and the General looked up from his desk. It was a chilling sight for Qrow, as the usually clean and organized man's desk was filled with countless papers and disposable coffee cups that took up more room than Qrow would have thought possible. Ironwood ran a hand over his face and smiled tiredly at Winter.

"He got here quick."

"You know me, I'm always around," Qrow said smoothly.

Ironwood nodded distractedly.

"You'll go there on your first mission tomorrow with the Ace-Ops. There's a room down the hall on the left. I think it's across from yours, Winter. We never cleaned it out."

He didn't say it, but Winter was certain the only reason her room was still as she had left it was because they hadn't found the time to clean it out, due to the General's constantly distracted state.

-

Weiss shivered. She was always cold, so she didn't think much of it.

Ruby, however, looked at her with worry.

"Weiss? Are you cold?"

"Of course," she said off handedly. It was a cold warehouse, she supposed that was due to the fact that it was a cold night and there was no heater in here.

Everyone else seemed fine, though Ilia had curled up next to Pyrrha asked a little bit of shivering, and Weiss decided not to mention it.

Ruby pulled her cloak off of her, moving forward and wrapping it around Weiss.

"There! Is that better?"

Weiss blushed, glancing at Ruby. She rarely took her cloak off, and she looked adorable without it. Weiss pulled the cloak closer and looked away.

"Yes, thank you."

There was a knock on the large door to the warehouse, and everyone froze.

Thee was another knock, followed by the impatient tapping of someone's foot against the ground.

Ciel hurried to the door and opened it. She grabbed the small child and pulled them in, making several people around the room look worried.

Suddenly, the child molded shape, and a familiar figure stood in front of Ciel, smirking and pulling her in for a kiss.

Ciel blushed, but quickly seemed to forget that there were other people in the room until Ren pointedly cleared his throat.

Ciel started to pull back and Neo huffed, rolling her eyes and pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, which she then tossed at the nearest individual, who happened to be Ilia.

She turned back to Ciel, smirking, but her girlfriend shook her head, drawing back and joining everyone else.

"Qrow's in... I guess that means that this is when it starts," Ruby said slowly.


	4. (Horrible) Sneaking

Oscar walked down the street, relic left at the warehouse, and attempted to blend in. Weiss had written down instructions for him, but he wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to get inside. Weiss had said to sneak in, but that was a very vague set of instructions, and he was worried.

Despite that, he stopped at the edge of the gates to the Schnee family mansion. Distantly, his farm boy self wondered how anyone could have ever grown up like that. What would it have been like? He ignored those thoughts, and he snuck around the edge, trying to seem inconsequential so that nobody would remember him later.

Eventually, he found the loose bar that Weiss had informed him of, and he slipped inside. There weren't as many guards as he would have thought, so he was able to get inside pretty easily. From there, he spent a fair amount of time struggling to find the boy's room, but he eventually located the one that matched Weiss' description.

He knocked on the door, wondering if that was a poor decision.

Whitley looked up from his scroll, frowning.

"Who could that be?" he muttered, standing up and heading to the door. His mother couldn't be there, because she hardly came out of her own room, and servants only ever knocked on Whitley's door when there was a meal prepared or a visitor, and Whitley couldn't imagine it being either of those.

He opened the door, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Who are you?" he asked, voice hostile.

Oscar thought this might not have been the best approach, but he supposed it was either this or he could sneak in through the window and scare the poor boy.

"Uh, my name's Oscar Pine, and," he looked around for guards worriedly, "your sisters sent me to talk to you."

"Why shouldn't I call for the guards to remove you from the premises?"

"Because your sisters sent me?"

"Yes, but how do I _know_ it was them who sent you?" Whitley asked impatiently, tapping his foot in agitation as he leaned against the side of the door frame.

"Oh! Right!" Oscar fumbled and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Weiss said that you would recognize this."

Whitley took the paper, watching Oscar out of the corner of his eyes warily.

_'Hey, Jack Frost.'_

Whitley flushed and tucked the paper inside his jacket pocket, glaring at his sister's familiar handwriting.

"Come inside," Whitley said, looking around the hall for workers and finding none.

Oscar stepped into the room and Whitley hurried, but quietly, closed the door.

"What do they want?" Whitley asked, crossing his arms petulantly.

"To check on you," Oscar said hesitantly.

"They've never worried about me before," Whitley said, rolling his eyes, "What's different now?"

Oscar frowned in confusion.

"I know your sisters pretty well, Weiss more so than Winter, that's for sure, but... they're worried about you."

"Then why haven't they contacted sooner?"

"We've been... busy."

"Running from the law?"

Oscar flinched.

"That's... complicated."

"Is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "It seems that everyone in my family has some sort of issue with the law," he muttered.

Oscar's eyes widened as Whitley stared at the floor.

"That's not true," he said.

"Yes, it is!" Whitley snapped.

He glanced at Oscar warily for a moment before sighing in frustration. Whitley fell against the bed in defeat.

Oscar hesitantly walked closer, looking down at the heir.

"First father, now Winter and Weiss...," he groaned, running a hand down his face, "And mother's too far gone to even think about committing any sort of crimes."

Oscar slowly sat down beside Whitley.

"I don't know if it'll help, but your sisters are _very_ good people. Some of the best I've ever met," Oscar said.

Whitley didn't respond, and Oscar decided to change his tactics.

"I've recently learned something."

"Do enlighten me, oh, grand criminal," Whitley said behind his hands.

"The person that you are? That doesn't change. It doesn't matter who your mother is," Oscar's thoughts went to Yang, "or who your father is," his mind shot to Weiss, "how you grew up," Neo, "how you were born," Penny, "your past," Ilia, "who you think you're supposed to be," Pyrrha, "or even what species you are," Blake.

Oscar looked at him finally, an eyebrow raised. Oscar supposed he could have phrased that better, in hindsight.

"What I'm trying to say is... the only thing that determines who you are, is you. Not your family, or anything else."

Whitley sat up.

"You're not very good with words."

Oscar flushed.

"But... thanks," Whitley said.

Oscar nodded, giving him a small, almost shy smile.

"No problem. Everyone needs a little help sometimes."

Whitley raised an eyebrow, and Oscar gave him his best smile.

Whitley froze.

Oscar put a hand over Whitley's own.

"Your sisters are here for you, and I guess that I am too now."

"I...," Whitley didn't, and couldn't, speak and flushed in embarrassment.

Oscar didn't seem to notice.

"I can give you Weiss' scroll number, if you want, but I can't give you Winter's for... reasons."

Whitley stared at him.

"Do you... want her scroll number?"

Whitley snapped out of it.

"Yes, I want you-HER scroll number."

Oscar smiled and gave him a piece of paper.

Whitley took it and glanced at Oscar for a moment.

"Will you... be coming back?"

Oscar seemed surprised, but smiled.

"Yeah! Weiss obviously can't be seen, so I can definitely come back."

Whitley struggled to compose himself.

"Then... then I'll need your number as well, so I can know when you're coming, and I can let you in. I can't have you sneaking in again like some kind of murderer."

Oscar blushed and nodded, scrawling down a set of numbers and smiling.

He glanced outside for a moment before turning his attention back to Whitley.

"I need to get back to our safe house, but you can send me a message if you need anything."

Oscar smiled and turned to the door.

"Go out the window," Whitley said, "you're lucky that you didn't get caught on the way here."

Oscar flushed and nodded, hurrying to the window.

"Uh, see you later," Oscar said awkwardly, sneaking out the window and almost falling over.

Whitley watched him go and blushed again.

That had been... severely unexpected.

Whitley didn't like it, but... he glanced down at the scroll number in his hands. Oscar had been... annoying cute.


	5. Date Night

Ruby looked around the warehouse with a smile.

Their team had called a small back corner that nobody went to anyways. Ruby and Yang had spent the last few hours preparing it for tonight, not allowing Weiss or Blake to help them for fear of the surprise being ruined.

For a warehouse, they had fixed up the corner surprisingly well. The lighting was dark in the back corner, which had originally given it a creepy feel, but now it seemed almost romantic in nature with the adjustments they'd made. Ruby had taken her clock back from Weiss, frustrating the former heiress slightly and causing Blake to warm her up while they waited for their overly dramatic girlfriends, and they used the cloak as a table cloth. For the table itself, they'd gotten a large and sturdy box from the back of the warehouse. The chairs were made of wood, which Yang had gotten from the dozens upon dozens of shelves, breaking them and then using bits of extraneous rope to tie them together. Neo had brought back food for everyone here, and Ruby had gotten the criminal to get them fancier food with a bit of extra cash. They'd found a random big of canvas and had cut it in half to make a kind of door for their girlfriends to walk through. Ruby had used her semblance to run around the small space and pick up dust, but that had only made the air dustier and she'd had to try and shepherd the dust away from them by running back and forth. Over all, that part of the plan had not worked well, but the rest seemed pretty alright.

All in all, for a dusty and secluded back part of an old abandoned warehouse, the scene looked fairly dramatic.

The two sisters both patted themselves down to get rid of any lingering dust (there was a lot) and fixed their hair before grinning at one another.

They hurried into the more crowded part of the warehouse, finding Weiss and Blake leaning against each other, looking rather bored.

Ruby almost used her semblance to race to their sides, but she stilled herself and took a deep breath.

"Hello," she said, trying to sound formal. Yang barely held in a laugh as Ruby bowed in front of their teammates.

"Would you two beautiful young ladies care to accompany us to... uh," she looked to her sister for help.

"The fanciest section of this warehouse," Yang said.

Blake held in a laugh while Weiss rolled her eyes fondly.

The cat faunus took Ruby's hand and let herself be pulled to her feet.

"I would be delighted."

Weiss stood on her own, looking rather hesitant to join Ruby and Yang, probably because she excepted Yang and Ruby to have a very odd evening planned for the four of them.

Yang winked at her and Weiss only seemed more worried after that.

Ruby held back the makeshift curtain she and her sister had made, and Blake let out a sound of shock.

"This is... actually pretty nice," the faunus said.

"You don't have to act so shocked," Yang replied.

Blake glanced at her, a small smile on her face.

“It’s just... there really wasn’t much to work with.”

“Trust me, we know,” Yang said.

Ruby hurried forward and pulled out two chairs. Well, they weren’t quite chairs, but they were the closest they were going to get.

“Thank you, Ruby,” Blake said, “that’s very chivalrous.”

Ruby mouthed the word to herself as Weiss took a seat.

“She means kind,” Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

Ruby smiled and took her own seat across the table from Yang.

There was an awkward silence, at least Ruby thought there was, as Yang pulled out the food from a shelf beside them, setting it down.

Ruby suddenly felt herself starting to panic.

What could they talk about? Was there anything for them to talk about? For all of her complaining about there always being something else to fight, she found herself... troubled by the lack of an adversary. What if the only thing that had held them together, was a common enemy? Did that mean that, after everything, should they survive... they would slowly drift apart?

Her chest started to constrict at the idea, and she glanced to her sister. Yang didn’t seem to have any of her doubts, and she had an easy smile on her face.

“You look ravishing, Weiss,” she said in a playful voice, like one would hear in a poor romantic movie.

“And you’re frustrating,” Weiss responded, but her eyes were filled with nothing but fondness.

Yang laughed and leaned closer to the former heiress, setting a hand on hers.

Weiss flushed, still unused to physical contact, and Yang laughed.

“Wouldn’t have thought you’d still be embarrassed by this sort of thing, especially considering how touchy you get with Ruby whenever Oscar’s around,” Yang said.

Blake smirked and Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes.

“I thought this was supposed to be a nice dinner date, not an excuse to harass me.”

“Semantics,” Blake said.

Weiss laughed, her playful anger forgotten.

“This is really impressive,” Weiss admitted, looking around.

“Is... is that Ruby’s cloak?” Blake asked, looking at the table cloth.

“That’s why you wanted it back,” Weiss said, grinning slightly.

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

Weiss crosses her arms.

“You should be. I went cold because of you.”

“She was fine. She did put her cold hands on my arms though, which I found rude,” Blake said.

Weiss flushed and shook her head.

“Insufferable, the three of you.”

Ruby let out a relieved breath. They might work well in times of crisis, but this conversation flowed just as naturally. It seemed her worried had been for naught.

But, as all good things do, it had to come to an end.

“Are you alright? I mean with everything between you and your brother and sister?” Blake asked Weiss, after a few blissful minutes of peace.

Weiss slumped, running a hand through her hair.

“It’s... troublesome, but, we’ll manage. I hope Oscar could get Whitley to talk. He’s been gone a long time... maybe Whitley had him arrested?”

Before anyone could respond, someone pulled back the makeshift curtain.

“Wow, this is... nice. Anyways, Weiss, I gave your brother your number,” Oscar said.

Weiss almost fell out of her seat in shock.

“She summoned him,” Ruby marveled.

“Oscar, get outta here, you’re ruining the date.”

“Oooh! What’s going on in here?” Nora’s familiar voice called.

She gasped.

“Guys, there’s more food!”

And, just like that, privacy had been lost.

The four members of team RWBY glanced at each other and, rather than be upset, started to laugh.

Of course this is how their date would end. They were in a warehouse with a dozen other people, one of which was Nora Valkyrie. There was no privacy.


	6. Options

Winter was, blissfully, alone for the first time since having returned to Atlas, and the night was young, though most would be asleep. Now was the perfect time to strike. She strode down the halls in her normal, purposeful way, because it would be inherently suspicious for Winter Schnee to be found hiding in a dark corner or skulking around like a thief. She knew that's what her party, team CFVY, would be doing, searching the outer perimeters for a good way to get the entire group snuck inside.

Winter's main job was quite different, and she would call it far more dangerous. She had to discover not only where the General hid the relic, but how to use it without setting off any alarms or making Atlas go hurtling to the ground below, destroying not only this city, but Mantle as well.

Thankfully, the hallways were clear, and she found seldom many guards. That was likely due to the General's paranoia. He would have traps and alarms instead of real men that could betray him so close to the staff. Winter saw that as an oversight now, though before she would have seen it as a sort of genius move when she had worked here. Perhaps she too had been blinded by paranoia, or maybe she'd just seen more of what they were up against. An unstoppable monster that would send league after league of Grimm and pawns after them until they had the relic. And Salem would _not_ make sure that Atlas stayed safe in the attack, likely enjoying the sight of the giant city in the sky falling on top of Mantle.

She was able to slip by the numerous cameras, both because of her own extensive experience of the layout in here as well as Neo's surveillance, which she had passed on to Winter.

Winter stepped into the large room, eyes zeroing in on the staff. She was about to take a step forward, but she saw a camera out of the corner of her eye, and she froze.

Perhaps this shouldn't be a job for her, but instead Neo. After all, the criminal could take any form they wished... and as Ironwood, she would be able to pass any biometeric scanning, which could be anything from fingerprint to retina scan.

Winter stepped out of the room, her mind racing. She'd found it, and they could get it at any point.

She had two distinct options

One, she could trust Neo, a known criminal that had worked with Cinder and suspiciously joined their mismatched crew, to sneak in and grab the relic, one of the most powerful objects in existence.

Or two, she could make the call to fight their way in and out with the rest of their party and risk the chance of one or all of them getting captured.

As Winter steadily walked back toward her room, she weighed the two risky options, wishing that she had a third, though she knew she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking suggestions for who to ship Qrow with! Just keep it feasible to the story line! (meaning Ironwood and Ozpin are out, for good reasons)


	7. Message

Whitley stared at his scroll for a long time, not sure what to do.

After a good fifteen minutes of staring, five minutes of obsessively checking the hall to make sure there weren't any servants nearby, ten minutes of overthinking, and five minutes getting distract by thoughts of Oscar, he finally sent a message, which he had thought was eloquently put, but now realized was stupid.

 **Whitley:** _Hey_.

He only had a minute to overthink some more before his sister responded.

**Ice Queen:** _Whitley?_

**Whitley:** _Who else would it be?_

 **Ice Queen:** _Someone nicer._

**Whitley:** _Words can hurt, you know._

**Ice Queen:** _Yes, that's why I used those words._

**Whitley:** _You always were particularly nasty. I see why you sent that boy to disarm me._

 **Ice Queen:** _What are you talking about? Do you mean Oscar?_

 **Whitley:** _Of course I mean Oscar! You sent him to try and trick me. Nobody's that nice. What do you want from me?_

 **Ice Queen:** _First of all, I sent Oscar because he's inconspicuous and nobody would be suspicious to see a kid running by the mansion. Second, I just wanted to check and see that you were doing alright, you little_

There was a pause between messages and Whitley frowned.

 **Ice Queen:** _What Weiss MEANT to say was that she was worried about you!_

 **Whitley:** _What?_

 **Ice Queen:** _Sorry, someone stole my scroll._

Whitley frowned, raising his eyebrow.

**Whitley:** _Regardless, you sent the perfect boy to distract me, and it worked for a little while, but I see what you're planning. You're not getting your title back, sister._

**Ice Queen:** _Wait, perfect boy? You're still on about this Oscar thing? And I'm not planning anything! I don't want the stupid title back, you can keep it!_

Whitley frowned. She had to be planning something, right? Why else would she be contacting him? She couldn't just be... worried! Nobody did that. Whenever they needed something, _then_ they would be nice. That's what had **almost** tricked him about Oscar. The boy had almost been believable, until Whitley remembered what his father had always taught him. Nobody ever checks in without having a reason. Everyone had an ulterior motive, even family.

 **Ice Queen:** _Did Oscar say something to upset you?_

 **Whitley:** _Quite the opposite, dear sister. I do applaud you on your pick of spies, however. He is exactly the type to get me to lower my guard._

 **Ice Queen:** _Are you saying you have a crush on him or something? Because I'm lost._

Whitley flushed.

 **Whitley:** _You almost had me fooled. His acting is quite believable._

Weiss almost threw her scroll, growling.

"Oscar! What did you say to my brother?!"

Oscar looked up, seeming a bit panicked at Weiss' rage.

"I just say that I was there if he needed me."

Weiss rolled her eyes. Her brother was so dramatic.

 **Ice Queen:** _Dust, Whitley! I didn't send Oscar to seduce you! I just sent him to give you my number! He wasn't even supposed to talk to you!_

Whitley paused.

Could she be telling the truth? As impossible as it sounded, his sister had always been a horrible actress, and her agitation seemed genuine.

**Whitley:** _He wasn't?_

**Ice Queen:** _No, you insufferable twat!_

Whitley suddenly blushed. If Oscar had been genuine, then...

 **Ice Queen:** _We can talk about your paranoia and crush on Oscar later. How are you? How's mother._

 **Whitley:** _Mother's as to be expected. And when have you ever cared about checking up on your dear brother?_

 **Ice Queen:** _Since I realized I should have been checking up on you ever since I left. Do you need anything? We're planning to leave the city soon, if you would like to join us._

 **Whitley:** _Yes, joining your motley crew of criminals and hooligans, not to mention the faunus you hang around with. Really, sister, I thought you were better than that._

 **Ice Queen:** _Don't talk about them like that. They're good people, and you have no idea what you're talking about._

 **Whitley:** _Is that so?_

**Ice Queen:** _Yes, it is._

"Was I this bad when we first met?" Weiss asked, groaning.

There was a beat of silence.

"I thought you three loved me."

"We do. We love the you _now_. You when we met was... kind of a handful," Blake said.

"You were kinda racist," Ruby said, smiling awkwardly.

Weiss winced.

"Fair point."

 **Whitley:** _I do hope you'll keep yourself out of trouble, sister. The family name can't take much more tarnishing than it already has._

 **Ice Queen:** _Oscar's coming with us, you know._

Whitley flushed.

 **Whitley:** _I don't see why that would be an important detail to tell me._

Weiss rolled her eyes.

 **Ice Queen:** _You don't have to come, but you DO have to stop being such a twat and open your eyes._

 **Whitley:** _Ah, yes. You're just as annoying as I remember._

 **Ice Queen:** _You too._

Despite the insults being thrown back and forth, both siblings found themselves grinning. They hadn't spoken in so long, and there was nothing more **them** than insulting each other. That was the way of the Schnees, and no amount of time apart could change that.

-

_'Until we meet again, my fair love, I will dream only of your face and hear nothing but your sweet voice, for your call to me is like that of a siren. Until we next meet-'_

"Stop being so dramatic," Ciel snapped, blushing.

Neo grinned and gave her a deep kiss before transforming back into a small child and running out the door.

Ciel let out a groan and pulled out another letter from her mouth. She had to tell Neo to stop doing that, because it was just plain gross.

_'See you soon, Gorgeous.'_

Despite the soggy piece of paper being a serious biohazard, Ciel smiled at it for a long moment before tossing it in the trash.

-

"Oscar, what did you say to my brother?!" Weiss snapped again, sliding her scroll into her pocket. Her brother had said something about supper, and stopped returning her messages.

"I told you! I just said that he wasn't like his family, and he was his own person. You know, like what Ruby told me! He insulted me some, and then asked for my scroll number. That's it!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. Of course _that_ would be how someone won her dramatic brother's heart.

She stalked off, and Oscar felt a buzzing in his pocket. He pulled out his scroll and found a surprising message.

 **???:** _Is this Oscar Pine?_

 **Oscar:** _Yeah. Whitley?_

 **Whitley:** _Yes, who else would it be?_

Oscar flushed and laughed, taking a seat.

 **Oscar:** _What happened with you and Weiss? She seems frustrated._

**Whitley:** _Sibling things, I suppose._

**Oscar:** _Did you think I was some sort of spy?_

Whitley blushed and leaned back against his pillows.

 **Whitley:** _Perhaps. My life is full of people trying to get close to me for their own personal gain. I can't be too careful._

 **Oscar:** _I think I know a little about that. At least, I've learned some about that from...a friend._

Whitley raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

He felt foolish.


	8. The Choice of the Schnees

  


Oscar glanced up from his scroll, eyes landing on Ruby, Blake, and Yang. Weiss had left to talk to Pyrrha... Oscar decided to stand, taking the chance. He put his scroll into his pocket and hurried over.

"Can I... talk to you three for a minute?"

Ruby nodded, but Blake looked a bit hesitant, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder as she stood to join them. Ruby ushered them to the back part of the warehouse.

"Uh... actually, can Penny come with us?" Oscar asked.

Blake seemed to relax after that, nodding quickly.

Ruby called for her friend, and Penny dashed over.

"Salutation, Oscar!" she said.

Oscar joined the four girls in the back of the warehouse, beginning to pace. He knew that he shouldn't ask this... he didn't have a real chance at life, considering the fact that Ozpin was still in the back of his head. But, he supposed, that if he was going to die anyways, likely during the coming conflict, he might as well take a risk, have some fun for once in his life.

"Is there a reason that you asked to talk to us?" Yang asked, crossing her arms.

"Uh, yes. I just had... a question for you four."

"What is it?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"Oh, it's nothing... bad. I just wanted to ask you four... how you flirt with a Schnee."

Ruby grinned like an idiot, Penny frowned in confusion, Blake raised an eyebrow, and Yang smirked. Oscar blushed.

"Never mind-"

"Why? Has a certain heir caught your attention?" Yang asked.

"Maybe..."

"Flirting?" Penny leaned over to whisper to Ruby.

"You don't flirt with a Schnee," Ruby said, "they notice you, think you're cute, and then fail at flirting with you until you realize they've been flirting with you. Then you tell them that you like them back, and boom, you're dating one!"

"That's... actually a pretty good description of Schnee flirting," Blake said.

Yang was laughing too hard to speak.

"That's not what happened with Winter and I," Penny said.

Ruby and Yang stared at her.

"That's... exactly what happened," Penny said.

"A Schnee chooses you, and then you're dating," Yang said.

"Then how do you get a Schnee to... choose you?" Oscar asked, confused.

Blake, Ruby, and Yang looked at one another.

"I don't think you need to worry," Ruby said.

Oscar deflated.

"Oh."

"Haven't you been messaging him for hours?" Yang asked.

"Yeah."

"Did he mention you coming over again?" Blake asked.

Oscar nodded.

"You've been chosen," Ruby said.

"I have?"

"You have," Yang said.

Oscar grinned.

"But you can't tell him how you feel yet. Schnees are skittish. You have to let them come to you, then you catch them," Yang said.

"That sounds... horrifying and illegal," Oscar responded.

Yang shrugged.

"That's romance."

Weiss walked into the back of the warehouse.

"There you guys are. I have been looking all over for you," she said.

"See?" Blake asked, grabbing Weiss' hand in her own.

"What?" the former heiress asked in confusion.

"Oh, nothing. Oscar just wanted some flirting advice," Ruby said.

Weiss' eyes turned dangerous.

"He what?"

"And another great part of dating a Schnee?" Yang said, "They're easily distracted."

"Wha-"

Yang stepped forward and put her arms around Weiss' waist and kissed her gently.

When Yang pulled away, Weiss seemed dazed, and Oscar's eyes widened.

"I... uh," Weiss shook her head and looked at Oscar.

A moment later, she seemed to remember.

"Stay away from my brother."

"I won't hurt him-"

"No, I'm not worried about that," Weiss waved her hand indifferently, "he's insufferable, and he'd hurt you."

Yang burst out laughing.

Oscar slumped, and Weiss sighed, rubbing at her temple.

"Fine! Whatever! Just ask him out!" Weiss snapped, "He clearly likes you!"

"Don't do that," Blake said, "You need to wait until he's more sure of his emotions."

"What? He clearly likes Oscar!" Weiss said.

"Angel, if we'd told you how we felt the moment you caught feelings for us, you would have freaked out," Yang said.

Blake and Ruby nodded sagely.

Penny shrugged.

"I'm... unsure how Winter and I started dating. I remember it happening, but..."

"Exactly," Ruby said.

Weiss shook her head.

"Fine. Whatever. Listen to them," Weiss said, gesturing at her girlfriends and Penny.

"I still don't understand how we started dating," Yang said.

Ruby shrugged.

"Is it just me, or do Schnees have a type?" Yang asked.

"What?" Penny asked.

"Innocent and cute," Yang said, gesturing at Ruby and Penny before pointedly looking at Oscar.

"You two aren't," Weiss said, gesturing at Yang and Blake.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"We're everyone's type. Of course you like us."

Weiss huffed, but found herself smiling anyways.

"You're lucky I love you."

Yang snapped her fingers.

"That's it. That's how you know a Schnee likes you. They put up with your idiocy."

Nobody could argue.


	9. Meeting the Ops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Side note: Doing some wiki searching for the ace-ops, I found out that Elm is 6'5'' and Clover's 6'3''.... WHY ARE THEY ALL GIANTS?! VINE IS SIX AND A HALF FEET TALL! THEY SHOULD BE PLAYING BASKET BALL, NOT FAILING TO BEAT TEAM RWBY!

Qrow was a bit nervous, he supposed, but he didn't show it.

He walked into the room he was supposed to meet the Ace-Ops... about five minutes ago, but he decided he should try to be as realistic as possible to pass as having switched sides.

Qrow came to a halt, hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked around the room, a single eyebrow raised.

"You're Qrow, right?" a man asked.

He wore the same uniform as his teammates, but had a four leaf clover on his chest, which glinted in the sunlight. Qrow almost laughed at the idea of the man polishing his charm.

"Yeah."

"My name's Clover, and this is my team; Marrow, Harriet, Vine, and Elm."

As Clover spoke, Qrow barely kept himself from laughing at the name, he gestured to each of the teammates as he said their name.

A large woman, both in terms of height and her broad shoulders, hurried forward to Qrow.

"Oh, it's so great to meet you! We've heard a lot about you, especially from...," she trailed off, her grip on his shoulders loosening as she thought about the students they'd trained.

"Elm, right?" Qrow asked to change the subject.

The large woman nodded, grinning down at him.

"Yup! You're Ruby and Yang's uncle, right? They talked about you a lot."

"Sounds like them."

"If I may ask, why did you decide to join us in the hunt for your nieces?" asked another man. Qrow scrambled to remember his name before settling of Ivy... wait, Vine! Yeah, that sounded right.

Qrow shrugged.

"You know, there's something my sister once told me. Family always disappoints you."

"Sounds like a smart woman," Harriet muttered.

"Smart? Yes. A bitch? Also yes."

Elm snorted.

"I knew you'd have a great sense of humor!"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah. Let's get going," Marrow said, arms crossed.

Many of the team members glared at Marrow and others rolled their eyes.

"Alright. Let's get going. Qrow, you're with me today. Harriet, go with Elm. And Vine and Marrow."

There was a groan from Marrow and Clover rolled his eyes.

"You were the one that wanted to get started. Let's go."

Elm pulled back from Qrow finally, but not before giving him a tight hug, and gave him a sad smile.

"Wish we could have gone together," she said, "Get to know the new guy!"

Clover put a hand on Qrow's shoulder, giving him a wide grin.

"Let's get going," he said.

Qrow nodded, following the man out of Atlas.

-

Clover led him down the street with a small smile.

"So where are they?"

"Who?"

"The kids."

"I don't know. Isn't that exactly why we're walking down this crowded street of people that hate us? To look for the kids?"

"Yes, but you know where they are," Clover said.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here."

"You're trying to keep us occupied."

"That's ridiculous."

"It is, and it's a horrible plan. I don't know why they're back. But I have one question."

Qrow dropped all false pretenses.

"What?"

A beat of silence.

"Is Ilia there?" he finally asked.

"Uh, one sec. I don't know all of your names. There's, like, thirty of them. Is that the chameleon faunus?"

Clover nodded.

"Yeah, she's there."

Clover let out a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

-

Ilia ran a hand over the small four leaf clover pendant. Pyrrha was currently talking to the rest of their team, so this gave Ilia the chance to think.

She ran a hand over her pendant again. For some reason, she'd been thinking about him again lately. Or maybe she was always kind of thinking about him. She did wear the four leaf clover everyday, after all. She missed him. He was... the first person she'd had since Adam that seemed almost like a father figure to her... and he'd left too. She shook her head, wiping her tears away quickly.

-

"Take me to them."

Qrow crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

"No way. You're part of the team searching for them."

"So are you."

Qrow considered for a moment. Either Clover was telling the truth... or he wasn't. He could always kidnap Clover anyways if things went wrong, and that would be easier if he took Clover to meet their entire party. After all, there really were, like, thirty of them.

"Alright. Whatever, come on."

-

There was a knock on the door.

"It's me!" Qrow called in his raspy voice.

Ruby and Yang glanced at each other.

Blake and Weiss joined them as they hurried to the door.

Ruby opened the door.

"It's a sneak attack!" Ruby cried, grabbing her scythe.

"Calm down, kiddo," Qrow said.

Clover looked over the young girls heads, his eyes landing on Ilia.

"Are you going to... take us in?" Ruby asked.

"He can try," Yang said, clicking her gauntlets into place.

"No, I'm not here for that!" he said.

Ilia's eyes widened at the familiar voice and she jumped, looking up at him in shock.

While many people grabbed their weapons, Ilia just stared in disbelief.

"Hey!" Clover said, waving around.


	10. Lucky Day

Ilia stared in shock.

Clover waved at her.

Yang swung her fist at his face and he jumped back, breaking eye contact with Ilia.

"Yang, stop!" Ilia called.

Yang hesitated, stopping her fist in midair.

"May I speak now?" Clover asked.

"Make it fast," Weiss snapped.

"I want to help!" Clover said.

Yang glanced back at Ruby.

"Let him in," Ruby said.

Yang and Blake both stepped to the side, clearing the entryway.

Qrow and Clover stepped inside.

"So... what can I do?" Clover asked.

There was a beat of silence.

Ilia had stood, and Clover looked over at her, pausing again.

"How ya been, colors?" he asked awkwardly.

Ilia's eyes clouded with tears, and she glanced back at Pyrrha.

"Go," she encouraged.

Ilia considered for another moment, but her resolve crumbled as she looked at him.

She hurried forward, tackling the leader of the Ace-Ops in a tight hug.

"You came back."

"Course I did," he said.

"Nobody ever comes back," she whispered.

Clover held her closer.

"Get use to it, colors, you're never getting rid of me."

Ilia loosened her grip around his neck, leaning back down so that she could look him in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry I left," she whispered.

Clover shook his head, wiping away a few of her tears.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have turned against you."

"It doesn't matter, anymore," she said.

"Couldn't have said it better."

Ilia pulled back fully.

"We don't have much time, make it quick," Qrow said.

"So, what's the plan?" Clover asked.

Everyone stared at him.

"I _just_ realized how that sounded. How about this, I'll just distract the Ace-Ops for you."

Everyone nodded.

Before anyone could say anything, the door swung open and a small child walked in.

The child looked at Clover, glanced at Ilia, and turned around to walk back outside.

"Is... this a part of your group?" Clover asked uncertainly.

"Ummm...," Ruby glanced at Ilia, who was still watching Clover with a sort of shocked awe.

"Yeah."

Ciel gestured at the child, and they closed the door, body transforming right before Clover's eyes.

"Neopolitan!" he gasped, hand shooting to his fishing pole.

"Back off," Ciel growled, eyes suddenly narrowing dangerously.

Clover put his hands up.

"Sorry! Just a little... surprised."

He glanced at Neo, who was standing with both her hands on her parasol, smiling innocently at him. It was a horrifying and ironic scene, and Clover forced himself to look away.

Ciel stepped up beside Neo defensively, putting one hand on the criminal's arm.

"I said I'd leave her alone," Clover said, rolling his eyes, "But I do have a question. Has she just... been with you this whole time? We thought she was planning something big. We've been looking everywhere for her."

"Yeah, she's been with us this whole time. She just came from the school too," Ruby said.

Ciel slapped her arm.

Ruby realized she probably shouldn't have said that.

"She's been in the school?"

"Yes?" Ruby asked, wincing.

"Our security is _not_ as good as I thought," Clover muttered.

 _'It's really not,'_ Neo signed, and Penny translated.

Clover laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"You kids are going to get me in so much trouble," he said, grinning.

Ilia stared up at him again, and he glanced down at her. His gaze zeroed in on her pendant, and his smile widened.

"You kept it?"

"Uh...," Ilia flushed, running a hand over the pendant, "Yeah. I did."

Yang couldn't stop herself.

"I guess you could say... today's been a LUCKY DAY!"

Blake and Weiss sighed in frustration, but Ruby snickered.

"What?" Qrow asked.

"Cause it's his semblance. Good luck. Like the opposite of yours," Ruby said to her uncle.

Qrow side eyed Clover, who winked at him.

"Oh, I see," he said.

Neo tapped her foot impatiently, holding up a paper for Ciel, who snatched it out of her hand.

Qrow glanced at the two and then turned to face Clover.

"We better get going before the rest of your team realizes we're missing."

Clover glanced at his scroll to check the time.

"Yeah, Elm is probably worried that we haven't checked in. She gets that way sometimes. She's got a big heart," Clover said, smiling just slightly.

Ilia raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Clover rolled his eyes, grabbing Qrow by the wrist.

"Come on."

The two exited and Neo rolled her eyes.

_'Finally.'_

Ciel slapped her.

"Can't you be nice for once in your life?"

_'You knew when you started dating me that that wasn't an option.'_

Ciel huffed, and Neo wrapped her arms around Ciel's waist, putting her head on her shoulder.

Ciel handed the paper Neo had given her to Ruby, and the team leader read it aloud.

"No changes."

"Wow, riveting," Weiss said dryly.

Neo gave Ciel a kiss on the neck, making her swat at the criminal.

_'Gotta go, Gorgeous! Love you!'_

"Love you too," she muttered.


	11. The Missing Piece

Winter sat in her bedroom, leaning against the wall with her hands over her face. She still had to decide where to go next with their plans, and she couldn't even ask the rest of their party without sending a message through Neo, the person she was actively doubting.

She wished she could ask Penny what to do... it seemed that she was always so certain of what was the right thing to do.

But Winter knew what Penny would say. She'd say to trust the criminal, but Penny was far more trusting than Winter herself. She'd made up her mind. She didn't trust Neo enough. She sighed in frustration. She had a plan, and she didn't know if she was ready for it. She had a few more days to consider, at least, she supposed. No more than three, however, because after that Salem might send some of her underlings.

Winter forced herself to her feet and crossed the room to the door. Ironwood wanted to to meet with her soon, and for the time being she couldn't appear anything different than her normal self, which included impeccable timing and that meant she couldn't be late.

-

Clover put his hand to his earpiece.

"We finished sweeping the southeast section of the city, talking to pedestrians and searching alleyways."

"I was starting to get worried. You usually talk by now," Elm said.

"Can you two _please_ try to be more subtle?" Marrow whined

"Shut up," Harriet growled.

"Someone's touchy," Marrow said.

"That's enough," Clover said, "Meet back at the academy in fifteen."

"We're not done with our search," Marrow responded.

"Because _someone_ keeps having to stop and chit chat," Harriet muttered.

"You're not even here! You don't know what's going on," Marrow snapped.

"Yes, I do know what you're doing, because you do it every time!"

"Harriet, be nice," Elm said.

"I swear, it's like I work with children," muttered Marrow.

Clover sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Everything alright?" Qrow asked.

"Just some teammates being annoying," Clover said, once he'd put his hand down to silence his radio.

"I meant to ask... are you and Elm...," Qrow trailed off.

Clover shrugged.

"It's... complicated," he said.

Qrow raised an eyebrow.

Clover didn't elaborate.

"Come on, we really do need to get back. We've been gone for too long. Ironwood will probably want us to watch for airships coming from Mantle. he's paranoid that Robin and her Huntresses are going to attack."

"He is?"

"With good reason, too. He declared marshal law and... they're **really** not happy about it."

Clover sighed, and Qrow looked around at the once pristine streets of Atlas that were now filled with trash and remnants of trash on the ground.

"Seems like most people don't."

Clover sighed.

"You could say that again."

-

"When are you and Clover going to make it official?" Harriet asked.

Elm glanced at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do. Everyone knows. You two aren't subtle."

"It's... complicated."

"How so?"

"We're just... waiting."

"For what?" Harriet asked, seeming intrigued.

"I'm... not sure," she lied.

Harriet nodded. The wind of Atlas picked up and rustled her hair. Elm found herself watching it, wondering how long Harriet spent in the morning getting it just perfect before she came to work. It had to be at **least** half an hour, right? How much did she spend on hair gel? It couldn't be how her hair _naturally_ looked, right?

There was a reason that she and Clover "hadn't made it official," and Elm certainly knew why that was. They were a good match for each other. They were both optimistic and out going, and both of them **clearly** wanted to save the world, but... there was always something _missing_ between the two of them that, no matter how many dates they went on, they couldn't figure out. That is, until Harriet, unknowingly, crashed their date. They had been sitting on the balcony, just talking, and Harriet had joined them. Somehow, the conversation had been so much more relaxed with her there, and she was the opposite of them in so many ways, with her distrustful nature and her pessimism... everything had been so much easier with a third person.

This had helped the two of them realize what was truly missing. The two of them worked, in most ways, but it was just not _quite_ right. For a while, they'd been convinced that Harriet was the missing third piece to their relationship, but... she was just a bit too dark for the two of them. Her humor was too mean, her pessimism too heavy for the pair. She weighed them down too much... but that didn't mean that the _idea_ had been wrong. In fact, it had been spot on. The two of them were now looking for a special someone that could fill that little gap in their relationship. Because, no matter how much they cared for each other (and it was a lot), it just didn't quite... _click_.

Just as Harriet and Elm were about to head back, her scroll went off. She pulled it out of her pocket.

 **Clover:** _I think I found them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that the way I wrote Elm and Clover is NOT how I see the other poly ships, where I think any of the members could make a great pair with each other (like, for example, rubyxweiss, rubyxblake, blakexweiss, blakexyang, or weissxyang would all be just as viable and they wouldn't feel anything missing between them).


	12. Inquiries

"I have some questions!" Nora said.

Blake glanced up at the other girl.

"About?" Blake asked.

"You four," she said, gesturing at Blake and her teammates.

"Aren't you in a polyamorous relationship? What wouldn't you understand?" Weiss said, rolling her eyes. She was sitting in Yang's lap, which was certainly not her idea, considering Yang had picked Weiss up and just set her down, despite her objections (objections which she certainly hadn't meant, considering she was happily sitting with Yang's arms wrapped around her gently.

"That's not what I meant," Nora smirked, "I know how _that_ works."

"Then what do you want to know?" Blake asked. She was currently sprawled out with her head situated on Ruby's legs, the team leader running her hand over her ears, making her purr quietly. Said purring had made Nora let out a sound of uncontrollable excitement. Weiss had smacked her on the arm before she could comment, however.

"I don't know. Random stuff, I guess. We're going to be in here for days on end, right? Might as well keep ourselves occupied. So, who's the best flirt?"

Yang raised her hand smugly, but Weiss and Ruby pointed at Blake simultaneously, who smirked.

Yang let out a sound of disbelief.

"What?! I'm great at flirting!"

Her teammates all stared at her with level looks.

"Blake might have been late to the party, but she's definitely the best at flirting, Yang," Weiss said.

Yang sighed.

"Late to the party?" Nora asked.

"I was the last one to realize my feelings," Blake said, blushing slightly.

"But, on the plus side, she confessed so we didn't have to!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Who was the first to realize their feelings, then?" Nora prompted.

"That's... a good question. Ruby liked Weiss and I liked Blake, but Weiss was the first one to realize she liked all three of us," Yang said.

"I remember that!" Nora said, "She ran out of the room and then came to complain to Pyrrha and me!"

Weiss blushed as her teammates stared at her, laughing.

"Wait, you liked me before Weiss?" Blake asked.

Yang shushed her.

"We're **getting** there!"

Blake held up her hands in defeat.

Weiss rolled her eyes and reached out a hand and put it on Blake's head, idly running a hand through her hair.

"Then, like idiots, Ruby and I talked about our feelings for our partners."

"Which is how I realized that I had feelings for Blake too!" Ruby chimed in.

"And I realized I had a thing for stuck up heiresses."

Weiss slapped her arm.

"And then Blake realized?" Nora asked.

Yang shook her head.

" _That_ happened, like, the day before she told us," Ruby said.

"I think it's because she couldn't contain her feelings like we could," Yang said.

"Maybe I just had the guts you three didn't."

Ruby giggled.

Nora grinned mischievously, glancing at Weiss.

"I noticed that Ice Queen and Yang _really_ liked Adrian. You four gonna have kids?"

Blake's expression _dropped_ and her ears lowered. Yang and Weiss flushed. Ruby glanced at her teammates.

Nora quietly laughed, and Jaune shook his head sufferingly.

"I always liked kids!" Ruby said.

"Rubes, you _are_ a kid!" Yang said.

"I'm seventeen!"

"You're not eighteen, so you're a child," Yang said

"Does that made them pedophiles?" Nora asked, laughing as she pointed at Blake and Weiss.

Ruby let out a loud sound of protest.

Weiss flushed while Blake rolled her eyes sufferingly.

"No!" Ruby cried.

Yang was laughing, and Weiss slapped her on the arm.

"Then if they're dating Blake, that would make them fu-"

Pyrrha and Ren both slapped their hands over Nora's mouth.

Blake blushed, shaking her head angrily.

"Thanks," she said to Ren and Pyrrha.

Ren and Jaune sighed sufferingly.

"Don't say that, Nora," Blake said.

Nora nodded quickly, sensing the seriousness of her friend's warning.

"You never answered the kids question!" Nora cried suddenly.

"Nora, we're not even married," Yang said.

"Uh... _could_ you get married?" Nora asked.

There was a beat of silence.

"That's... a good question," Yang finally said.

"I for one _do_ like kids," Weiss said.

Yang shrugged.

"I'd be down," she said.

Ruby grinned in excitement.

As one would expect, all eyes landed on Blake, the only one to have not responded.

She blushed, looking up at her girlfriends.

"I guess... I'm definitely not ready for... anything like _that_ ," she said cautiously, "but, assuming things... get that far, I... could probably be persuaded," Blake finally finished, her ears turned down.

Ruby grinned.

That was more than enough for her! She silently thanked Nora for giving her an excuse not only to hear her teammates' opinions on a longer term relationship, but also _children_!

She didn't know about the rest of her teammates, but Ruby already had a whole life planned out! A nice but small wedding, a couple of kids, a house... the works!

She glanced at her sister, who seemed to be in a state of deep thought at the moment. Weiss and Blake had the same sort of distracted expressions.

If nothing else, the seeds had been planted in her teammates' minds, and that was AMAZING for Ruby.


	13. The Next Week

The next week for Qrow went... oddly. He and Clover went to meet the group a few times, and Qrow found himself enjoying watching Clover interact with Ilia. He'd make a great father.

That wasn't the only weird thing that happened with Qrow, as Clover kept insisting that the two of them hang out after work with his maybe-girlfriend Elm.

Elm seemed nice, maybe a bit over excitable, but kind. She'd voiced her disappointment over their party betraying them, which had made Qrow wary, but the two of them had eventually taken Elm to meet the kids. She'd cried, heavily, and pulled team RWBY in for a hug, screaming her apologies for not siding with them.

Qrow had also noticed that the two had started... talking to him differently, interacting with him differently. They were more... friendly, which was odd, considering the fact that the Ace-Ops were, supposedly, not friends, or anything more than coworkers.

Clover always made sure that Qrow was partnered with himself or Elm, which could be explained away by them being the only three that knew of where the party was located... but it seemed like more than that.

And Qrow found that he wasn't, surprisingly, upset that he was spending almost all of his time with Elm and Clover.

In fact, he enjoyed their time together!

That was rare, considering Qrow hated most people.

They'd played cards, once. Clover had won every time until the last round, where Elm and Qrow has teamed up against him. It seemed that Elm had a playful side. Qrow found that he liked that side of her. A lot.

And he liked Clover's gentle optimism and can-do attitude.

There was definitely something... odd going on with Qrow, but from the looks his two favorite teammates gave him every once in a while, he certainly wasn't the only one acting different.

-

The week had passed uneventfully for Oscar, as he'd spent the majority of it in a warehouse with a dozen other people, but today was Wednesday, and that was a special day for one reason and one reason only. He had been messaging Whitley all week, and they had started to get more and more flirtatious as time went on.

Today was the first day he would be coming over since _that_ had happened, so he was excited, but nervous for WAY more than one reason.

Oscar took a deep breath and slid through the back door of Schnee manor.

He took a deep breath, hand shaking as he reached out to knock on the door.

Whitley opened it, glancing over his shoulder for butlers or maids. He grabbed Oscar by the hand, tugging him into the mansion.

Oscar blushed slightly at the contact and let himself be dragged inside.

"Stay quiet," Whitley whispered, leading him up the stairs.

When they got to the young boy's room, he shut the door behind him, turning to face Oscar.

"You're late."

Oscar grimaced.

"Are you aware how big your house is? It took me ten minutes to find the back door!"

"Your house was... remarkably smaller then, I presume?"

Oscar snorted.

"I lived in a farm house."

"I knew that. How big was it?"

Oscar considered for a moment.

"Probably a bit smaller than this room," he admitted.

Whitney's eyes widened and he glanced around at his bedroom.

"I... see. My apologies."

Oscar waved a hand.

"It's fine. You didn't offend me or anything."

Whitley gave him a small smile, almost like the ones Oscar had seen Winter give Penny.

Whitley took a seat on his bed, and Oscar followed him. He felt a lot more comfortable around the heir now that they'd chatted so much. In fact, he felt like he knew way more about Whitley than he did most people in their party.

He knew everything from his childhood to his favorite color to his schedule to his favorite food. He knew about his parents and got to see Weiss and Winter's actions from a new perspective (specifically one that felt abandoned in a house filled with monsters without the two people that had always protected him).

In short, Oscar felt like he knew Whitley **very** well, and the heir thought he knew everything about Oscar... but Whitley didn't know everything, that was for sure.

As if summoned, Ozpin stirred slightly in the back of Oscar's head, but promptly became immobile once more, trapped in the back of the farm boy's head.

 _Where he should be,_ Oscar thought to himself, vaguely wondering if Ozpin could hear that too. In the end, he decided that he didn't care. He was still mad at the immortal man that was huddled in the back of his head.

 _Dust, when did my life come to this? There's an invisible man in the back of my head, I'm training with Huntresses and Hunters, and I'm flirting with the heir to the Schnee Dust Company!_ Oscar thought.

He thought for a moment, wondering what had happened to the small and unassuming farm boy.

Perhaps he'd been killed. Perhaps he'd only grown up. But weren't those two actions one in the same? Growing up was just the extended death of one's younger self. Perhaps little Oscar's death had just been more instantaneous than most.

"Are you still here?" Whitley drawled sarcastically.

Oscar jumped, flushing in embarrassment.

"Yeah, Sorry. I just got... lost in my thoughts."

"That happens a lot?"

Oscar paused.

"I guess you could say that."

Whitley raised an eyebrow.

"It's...," Oscar sighed, "like most of the things in my life, it's complicated."

Whitley turned to face Oscar, suddenly turning red.

"You can tell me, you know. I don't care if it's complicated. I... want to know more about your life. Or, at least, have... a bigger part in it."

Whitley was a light shade of pink now, and Oscar realized that he was too.

"That's... very nice of you. I'd... like you to have a bigger part in my life too," Oscar said slowly.

Oscar smiled at him, and Whitley met it with an almost shy expression. He ran a hand through his hair, as Oscar had seen Weiss do a few times, and gave Oscar a look that he suddenly recognized.

He had a flashback to earlier this morning.

_/_

_"There's only one true test to tell if a Schnee really likes you, though," Yang was saying._

_"How?" Oscar asked._

_"Just like their semblances, all of their 'I'm painfully in love with you but I can't tell you because I'm too proud to tell you' face is the exact same."_

_"It is?" Oscar asked._

_"No!" Weiss snapped._

_"Rubes, Blake, you're up!" Yang called._

_"We're not like some kind of wild animal that you can just-"_

_Ruby stepped forward and kissed Weiss soundly._

_When she pulled away, Blake hurriedly stepped forward, giving Weiss her best loving smile._

_"I love you Weiss," she said._

_Weiss_ _ran a hand through her hair before hooking a loose strand behind her ear. She looked up at Blake with a shy and bashful smile._

_"I... I love you too, Blake," she stuttered out._

_Yang snapped a picture, and Weiss jumped._

_"That's it. That's the face they always make."_

_Weiss let out a sound of protest._

_"We don't all make that face!"_

_Yang showed the picture to Penny and Oscar._

_Penny light up in excitement._

_"I've seen that expression before!"_

_"Care to show us, Pen?" Yang asked._

_Penny plugged her scroll into an outlet that appeared, quite suddenly, from her arm. A minute later, she turned it on, and on the screen there was a picture of Winter, looking at her with the same expression._

_"This is from my memory files! This is right after she told me that she loved me before she left to return to Atlas!" Penny said._

_Weiss saw the pictures of herself and Winter side by side._

_They looked identical, in terms of the expression._

_"They... look identical," Oscar said._

_"If Whitley looks at you like this, and I'm sure he will, take a picture," Yang said._

_"Don't do that," Weiss snapped._

_"Cmon, Angel, you know you look identical," Yang said._

_Weiss cross her arms almost, no, entirely, petulantly._

_"We're not the same people, Yang," she said._

_"I know that, Angel. That's why I'm not trying to make out with your sister all of the time," Penny frowned, "because she's not you. And, because of that, she's not my type."_

_W_ _eiss seemed a bit concerned._

_Yang stepped closer._

_"You and Blake point out how Ruby and I are similar, but we're not the same person."_

_Ruby let out a sound of disgust at the idea._

_"But-"_

_"But you like Ruby and me? That's just a coincidence," Yang said, waving her hand as if the thought was silly._

_"Right, guys?"_

_Blake and Ruby hurried forward._

_"Yeah!"_

_"Of course."_

_"I mean your sister is nice... sometimes, but she's not you," Ruby said happily._

_"Yeah. She's too cold. You're **just** frigid enough for us," Yang said._

_"I am going to ask you three nicely to stop insulting Winter Schnee," Penny said, glaring at them._

_"That's not what we're doing, Penny!" Ruby said hurriedly._

_"If anything, you should be happy, considering we're saying that we have **no** romantic feelings for your girlfriend, Pen," Yang said._

_Penny let herself relax slightly, but still seemed a bit unsure._

_Yang kissed Weiss quickly before turning to Oscar._

_"Point is, if you see this look," she showed the picture of Weiss and Winter side by side, "then tell him you like him."_

_"But wouldn't he tell me?"_

_"No! Schnees don't tell you first."_

_"Winter kissed me first," Penny pointed out._

_"That's because you took way too long to pick up on the hints, which isn't your fault!" Yang amended quickly, "You didn't know anything about flirting. But he won't tell you first, because he's far too proud."_

_/_

Oscar fumbled to pull his scroll out of his pocket and took a picture.

Whitley's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What was that for?" he asked.

Oscar panicked slightly.

"It's... I'll tell you in a minute! Right now, I need to tell you that... I like you!"

Whitley stared at him in shock before his face melted back into The Schnee In Love expression.

"I... I like you too, Oscar."

Oscar leaned forward and kissed him soundly.

When they pulled apart, the boy had a familiarly dazed smile that Oscar had seen on Weiss' face expression countless times and even on Winter's occasionally after a kiss with Penny.

Oscar found himself laughing, and Whitley flushed.

"W-What's so funny?" he demanded.

"It's just... a friend of mine told me that when a Schnee has feelings for someone, they always make the same face."

"What?"

Oscar kissed him again, using the distraction technique Yang had taught him.

It worked for a solid minute before Whitley asked him a question.

"When a Schnee has feelings for someone? Are my sisters... romantically involved?"

Oscar was silent.

"Yes?"

Whitley sighed, rubbing his temples, but he started smiling again.

"I wasn't sure if you were flirting with me," Whitley admitted, "So I was... nervous."

"My friend also said to let the Schnee flirt with you or you'd scare them off."

Whitley stared at Oscar incredulously.

"Is your friend dating my sister?"

"Maybe?"

There was a stirring in the back of Oscar's mind, and he froze.

Whitley leaned in for another kiss, but Oscar pulled back, his eyes turning heavy.

"Oscar?" Whitley asked in a concerned voice.

"I... I can't do this!"

"I... I thought you said you liked me," Whitley said, sounding almost desperate.

"I do! I **really** do! But... I can't."

"Why not?"

"I... there's something you don't know about me, Whitley."

"Then tell me!"

Oscar took a deep breath before leaning forward, grabbing the heir's face in his hands.

"Promise me that you'll listen to me, no matter how ridiculous it sounds."

"I promise."

Oscar took a deep breath, and decided to start at the beginning, back on the farm, when he started to hear the voice.

-

Winter looked at her watch. Today was day six of their sneaking into Atlas Academy and military.

It was difficult, but not because of suspicion or trying to stay hidden...

If she were to be honest with herself, she would say the answer was that she missed... people. It made it hard to be away for so long. She'd spent a long time being with their odd party constantly, and now she missed them.

She missed her girlfriend and her sister (obviously), but she also missed the other members of her party. She missed Yang's oddness, Ruby's excitement, Blake's calm demeanor, Pyrrha's kindness, Ciel's sarcasm, Neo's... everything...

Winter missed them all, and she couldn't believe how much she did.

-

"You're... messing with me, right?" Whitley asked lowly.

"No! I'm serious!"

"Then show me."

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, you see... he's kinda... mad at me right now? Give me one second."

_Oz, I need you buddy. I know you're mad, and I'm mad, but maybe I'd be less mad if you helped me out here._

_You want me to help convince your boyfriend that you're not crazy so that you can continue to make out with him?_ asked Oz's familiar voice.

_Not... quite. I need you convince him that you're real so that he'll know I like him but also that I can't be with him._

_Very well,_ Oz thought with a mental sigh.

Oscar's eyes blazed yellow, and his posture became far more rigid as he looked down at Whitley.

Whitley fell off the bed in shock.

"Are you properly convinced, Mr. Schnee?" an unfamiliar voice asked him.

Whitley nodded quickly.

His eyes blazed yellow again, and Oscar almost fell off of the bed.

"Whitley? Are you alright?" he asked, holding out his hand to help the heir to his feet.

Whitley took it shakily, pulling himself to his feet with a small, thankful smile, though he looked exceedingly nervous.

"So... everything you said was... true?"

Oscar nodded.

"That's why I can't... be with you like I'd like to be. I... shouldn't have kissed you, because I knew that this would happen, but...," Oscar sighed, putting his head in his hands in frustration.

Whitley moved closer, hesitantly putting his arms around the farm boy.

"I don't... care, Oscar. And by that I mean... I don't care that you... are a part of... whatever this is. And I don't care about," he pointed at Oscar's head vaguely.

"If you're near me, Whitley, you'll be in danger. And I can't let you be in danger."

"You're not letting me, I'm doing it of my own volition. Like you said, I'm my own person, and you can't dictate what I do."

He leaned forward to kiss Oscar, who pulled back.

"I can't... be completely me, Whitley. You deserve **better** than that!" he cried, clawing at his hair and covering his eyes.

"My whole life, people have been telling me what to do and what I deserve. I needed to be a proper gentleman. I _deserved_ a better life than everyone else because of who I was. I was **better** than the children outside I wanted desperately to play with."

Whitley leaned forward, gently pulling Oscar's hands away from his face.

"I'm done listening to it. I'm done worrying about who I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to be. Because I've never wanted anything as badly as I want to be with you."

Oscar was weak willed, he supposed. He wasn't the person he could or should be. He should be stronger, for Whitley's sake.

Even as he acknowledged this, he leaned forward and connected his lips to Whitley's.

When they pulled back, Oscar quietly spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for being who you are."

Oscar teared up, and Whitley awkwardly opened his arms. Oscar fell into them, and Whitley gave him the most uncomfortable and awkward hug of his life. It didn't matter to Oscar. He hugged Whitley tighter. It was the best hug he could ever remember getting.

-

Oscar burst into the warehouse.

"I got it!"

"A kiss or a picture?" Yang asked excitedly.

"BOTH!" Oscar yelled, holding up his scroll victoriously while the picture of Whitley could be seen.

Weiss sighed, but had to admit that the picture looked eerily similar to the pictures of herself and Winter that she'd seen earlier.

Penny, Blake, Ruby, and Yang burst out laughing.

-

Time in the warehouse was weird. It seemed to simultaneously not pass and pass exceedingly quickly. Despite the odd passage of time, three members kept track of the date very seriously.

And tomorrow was an important day for them. One they planned to _thoroughly_ celebrate for their youngest team member (who happened to have forgotten the day entirely, but that wasn't important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit 150k words!!!!


	14. Happy Birthday!

  


Ruby was sleeping peacefully. She was quite at rest and at peace, laying gently in Weiss' lap with Blake resting a hand on head. At least, that's how she had been sleeping last she knew. When she awoke, there were three figures screaming in her face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they cried.

Ruby screamed.

"What?!" Ruby asked in confusion and panic.

"It's your birthday, Rubes!" Yang cried, throwing her arms around her sister and pulling her to her feet in a bone crushing hug.

Weiss held up a box, blushing slightly.

"We got Neo to pick you up a birthday cake last night."

She opened the box, and a red cake looked back at her.

Ruby grinned like an idiot.

"You guys remembered!"

"Yeah, and it seems like you didn't!" Yang called out.

Ruby nodded with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

Weiss activated a small glyph and used it to light a few candles on fire, which Blake set down on the cake gently.

Eighteen.

"You can't call me a kid anymore!" Ruby said excitedly to her sister.

"Still can," she said, messing up her sister's hair and making her let out a sound of disdain.

Ruby turned to the cake.

"Make a wish!" Blake said.

Ruby considered for a moment. There were so many things going wrong in her life, that she almost didn't know what she could wish to change.

I wish that, after we find a way to beat Salem... all of us can find happiness together.

She blew out the candles.

"What'd you wish for?" Yang asked.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true!" Ruby cried.

"Yeah, didn't you know that, Yang?" Blake asked, voice laden with sarcasm.

Penny appeared a moment later.

"Salutations, Friend Ruby! I have just recalled that today should be the celebration of another year since the passage of the day you were born! In other words, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Penny cried, pulling Ruby in for a tight hug.

"Thanks, Penny!" she managed to say.

"How about you cut this cake for us, Pen?" Yang asked.

"Of course!" Penny said, pulling back and summoning her knives, which neatly and cleanly cut the pieces of cake for them.

Ruby grinned and took her slice excitedly.

"Friend Ruby, would you like to receive your gift now or at a later time?" Penny asked.

"Now, please" she said happily.

Penny's back opened and a row of swords appeared, holding up a small box delicately.

She took it and dropped it into Ruby's outstretched hands.

"It's... like a sort of memory, of what you told be back at Beacon."

Ruby opened the box quickly and excitedly.

Inside, she found a piece of jewelry, which she gently lifted up, staring at it in wonder.

It was a small metallic green ring on the end of it with an inscription on the inside that Ruby started to turn in an attempt to read it.

Finally, she put it together.

Thank you for helping me figure out who I am; that I'm human.

Ruby's eyes filled with tears and she threw herself at Penny, wrapped her arms around her friend's neck and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Thank you, Penny."

"It was supposed to be thanking you," Penny said, frowning.

"You don't have to thank me, but I love the gift."

Penny grinned excitedly.

"The ring itself is made out of the same metal used to make my swords, and is colored the same as well!" Penny said.

Ruby slid the ring onto her left middle finger, where it fit perfectly, which wasn't a surprise considering Penny.

"That's awesome!"

"I thought it would be the girlfriends' job to give you a ring, Rubes," Yang said, smirking.

Blake and Weiss blushed while Penny frowned.

"Is my gift not acceptable?" she asked worriedly.

"Yang's just making a joke, Penny. I love it!"

She hugged her friend again, and Penny smiled at her excitedly.

"I'm glad you like your present, and I hope you have the happiest of birthdays! But I think I should leave you and your team alone."

Penny smiled one last time before she disappeared.

Ruby got a group from team JNIPR and Oscar, a box of nice chocolates, and they apologized for not having been able to give her a better gift due to not having enough options. She thanked them and told them not to worry, and they left her with her teammates after a few minutes of celebration together.

Yang pulled out a box of cookies, with extra EXTRA chocolate chip, Ruby's favorite.

"Sorry we're stuck in a warehouse for your birthday, Rubes."

Yang gave her a tight hug.

That left... Ruby to her girlfriends, who both shared a look for a moment before Blake pulled a small box out from a shelf. It had fit in perfectly, and Ruby hadn't even noticed its addition beforehand.

"We didn't exactly... know about Penny's gift, so...," Weiss trailed off.

Blake held out the box.

"We thought long and hard about this and what you might like," the faunus said as Ruby took the box.

"And we realized that you always worried about us not wanting people to know about our relationship," Weiss continued for Blake as Ruby began to open it.

"So, we got you this," Blake finished.

Ruby opened the box completely, finding a smaller one inside of it, though this box was clearly made for jewelry. It was a surprisingly large box for that purpose though, and she frowned in confusion. She opened it, and gasped.

She was met by a large red heart pendant, and she held it up in awe.

"Open it," Weiss said.

Ruby hurried to do as told, gasping as she saw what was inside.

There were two pictures, one of each of her girlfriends. The one of Weiss was the picture Yang had taken the other day to show Oscar the expression to look for. The picture of Blake was of her laying in someone's lap (it wasn't clear who it was, but it was obviously one of her girlfriends), looking up at her with a loving look on her face.

Ruby was about to drop the box in her excitement, but Blake quickly stopped her, grabbing it tightly to stop it from hitting the ground.

"But that's not all," Blake said.

"We know that you having the pendant wouldn't stop you from thinking we weren't proud to be with you, so...," Weiss trailed off as she opened the box further for Ruby. She revealed two more pendants, one white and one black

"If you want us to wear them, we'd be more than happy," Blake said.

Weiss opened the pendants, which showed three pictures for each of them. Ruby's picture showed her in the middle of her clapping her hands in excitement while looking at the person holding the scroll with a great fondness. Weiss and Blake's pictures were the same as in Ruby's. Yang's showed her shooting finger guns toward the camera with a wink.

"Do you want us to?" Weiss prompted.

Ruby nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak as tears filled her eyes.

They both put on the pendants, and they came a fair ways down their chests, which meant that they could be easily tucked into their shirts during a battle.

"We also got one more," Weiss showed the yellow one underneath, "if you want Yang to have one too, but-"

Ruby took the pendant from Weiss' hand and practically threw herself at her sister, struggling to put it on the taller girls' neck.

Yang laughed and took it, putting it around her neck.

Ruby put her own on with shaking fingers.

"I love it," she breathed.

Weiss and Blake grinned at her, and she pulled them both in for a hug. She kissed them both, for an extended period of time, until Yang cleared her throat.

"I have one more gift for you, Rubes," Yang said, drawing her attention away from Blake and Weiss.

Ruby frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"I'm gonna leave you three alone. No sharing for you today! You get the girlfriends all to yourself!"

For a moment, Ruby considered it, then she shook her head.

"I want you to be here! You've never missed my birthday! But... I will accept having all of their attention!" she said with a mischievous smirk.

Yang rolled her eyes sufferingly, pulling her sister in for a side hug and ruffling her hair.

"I should have known."

"Yannnnggg," she whined, "let me go!"

Yang finally did, and Ruby hurried over to Weiss and Blake, grabbing each of them by the hand and dragging them to the ground, sitting in between them and getting comfortably situated. She then gestured for Yang to join them, running a hand over her pendant and playing with it. She opened it and stared at the pictures lovingly.

She couldn't believe they'd not only remembered, but had given her the best gift ever!

Ciel walked up, crouching down in front of the four.

"Neo also told me that Qrow wanted you to get this this morning."

She held out a small box, which Ruby opened excitedly.

Hey, Kiddo! Happy birthday, sorry I couldn't be there for it, but I hope this'll make up for it.

She opened the box excitedly and was met by a large box of assorted candies and cookies, which she tore open. Because he'd been on the outside, he was able to get the largest variet without Neo having to appear too suspicious.

She smiled excitedly, glancing at her teammates.

Their gift was still better, and she shared the candies with them.

As she let herself relax with her team around her, she found herself grinning like a fool. It really was a happy birthday. The happiest she could remember... but the shadow of Salem over her head dragged her down.

Blake nuzzled into the crook of her neck and Weiss let herself lean against Ruby's shoulder.

Suddenly, she felt weightless, the idea of Salem and the fight not even being capable of bringing her down.


	15. Picking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter!

Today was the day. Well, to be more accurate, tonight was the night. They were going to initiate their plan tonight, which was almost horrifying to Winter. Team CFVY had found the way into the school, which would work for even the most noticeable of their party. Winter knew the path to get the lamp, and she knew exactly how they were going to finish their plan, but she was nervous anyways.

She let out a deep breath, composing herself. Because she had to be at the top of her game for what she had to do.

-

Qrow glanced at his teammates. Clover gave him a conspiratory wink and Elm gave her a wide smile. Those two finished the part of their part of the plan, as far as they knew, and weren't aware that anything was going on tonight.

Qrow supposed that meant that now was the moment he had to make a decision. Did he tell them that tonight was important, and that their party was leaving... or did he just leave without telling them? That all depended on one question.

It was a simplistic question, really, it should have been, at least.

But... did he trust them?

Qrow had never been good at trust, as he'd said many times before, but... it seemed that these two had wormed their way into his heart. But did that make them worthy of his trust?

-

Ruby grabbed onto Weiss' hand and held it tightly, her heart beating far too quickly in her chest.

Tonight was the night.

But were any of them ready?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you have been noticing that the romance of some rare pairs have been noticeably sped up from other ones... and there's a reason for that.  
> This work is picking up speed and it will be hurtling like an out of control train until... the foreseeable future... some of you won't enjoy this, probably, because it's going to be more serious. That's why I had to speed up the relationships so that they happen before crap goes down (meaning Salem and this next chapter.
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen and everything in between, hold onto your hats and your horses because we are NOT stopping this!


	16. Tonight

Blake had Ruby and Weiss' hands in her own, and Yang had one hand on Weiss' shoulder. She was the only one in their group that could see in the dark lighting, and she was guiding them so that they didn't have to use their scroll and ruin what pitiful right vision they did have.

Ilia was leading Pyrrha and Oscar, but everyone else had to use their scrolls to wander through the darkness with some semblance of light. Except Penny, Blake supposed. She wasn't certain about the other girl's night vision, but she was helping Ciel, the two holding hands as Penny walked slightly ahead of her.

Blake pulled to a stop as she saw the familiar gates of Atlas Academy, and all of the bad memories it brought with it.

The faunus led her teammates around the side of the fencing, looking intently for any sign of team CFVY. When she didn't see them, she started to panic, wondering if their friends had been caught by Ironwood. They shouldn't have expected to be able to get past the general, as paranoid as he had become as of late.

"Psst! Blake! Blake!" Velvet hissed.

Blake jumped and squinted, finding the rabbit faunus a few dozen meters ahead.

She looked over her shoulder and signaled for the rest of their party to follow her as she hurried forward to where Velvet and her team crouched.

"I can't see anything," Coco complained.

"How horrible," Fox responded, voice monotone. Coco slapped his arm.

Velvet grabbed Yatsu's hand and pulled him forward.

"One second, Blake," Velvet whispered.

A moment later, Yatsu leaned down with searching hands, finally finding purchase on a familiar part of the fencing and pulling it apart. The metal was surprisingly maleable, and Blake suddenly remembered what team CFVY had said in their letter. They'd found a weak spot in the fence a few days ago, and had slowly been making it more and more so until it could be bend by Yatsu's strong arms.

Blake let go of Ruby's hand, muttering to the team leader, "Stay put."

She pulled Weiss and Yang through the entryway before reaching back and grabbing Ruby and guiding her as well.

The rest of the party followed, and Blake turned to Velvet, who had a slightly nervous look on her face.

"This way," she whispered, grabbing Coco by the hand as Fox led Yatsu (the blind leading the blind almost made Blake laugh, which would have been a bad idea considering the fact that any loud noises would undoubtedly alert the guards).

They crept across the entryway courtyard until reaching the wall.

"There's a balcony right up there," Velvet whispered, "Neo should be waiting for us up there."

Yatsu leaned down and gave the rabbit faunus a boost up onto the balcony, where she jumped and scrambled over the railing.

Blake was able to get her teammates up there through the use of her ribbon, making the three climb, but most used Penny as a mode of transport, piling onto her back or holding on anyway they could as she silently flew up to the balcony and dropped them off.

When the party had finally gotten all together, Coco slapped Neo in the back of the head, making her pull away from Ciel with a dark glare.

"Yeah, yeah. You can make out when we're done," she said.

"Does Maria have the airship ready?" Velvet whispered.

"She's waiting just outside of the city. If we run, we could probably make it in ten minutes, maybe fifteen if we have people chasing us," Ren said.

Velvet nodded, glancing behind her uncertainly.

"Okay, we need to stick together so that nobody gets separated and captured," Coco said.

"Wouldn't we be suspicious, traveling in a big group?" Jaune asked.

Neo gave him a disappointed look.

"Yeah, we're going to be noticed. This isn't a stealth mission, at least not entirely. We charge inside, grab the relic, and run out to meet Maria," Coco said.

Jaune turned pale.

Coco slapped him on the back in a way that was likely supposed to be comforting, but really wasn't.

"Come on, we have to get going. Winter's going to wonder where we are," Fox said.

The large party crept down the hall, barely avoiding getting spotted.

When asked why there were so few guards, Neo had Ciel translate for her. Apparently she'd knocked out more than a few of them and piled the guards up in a few different supply closets.

"We're almost there," Velvet hissed.

They turned a corner and, sure enough, Winter came into view, looking up with a worried expression. She hurried toward the group.

"There's no way we'll be able to take down all of the cameras and the guards Neo didn't knock out will rush us as soon as we set off the alarm. Oscar, I sure hope you still have Ozpin locked up somewhere in that head of yours, because he'll have to control the relic."

Winter paused.

"You do know where we need to land the city, right?"

He nodded nervously.

"I know where to land it. I haven't spoken to him today... but I'm sure he'll help," Oscar said.

Winter seemed to not like that answer, as did many others, but she nodded anyways.

"Everyone, make sure Oscar doesn't get distracted," Winter said.

They nodded, and she moved to the door, body tensing. She drew her rapier in one hand.

As she gripped the door handle, she turned to face them.

"Is everyone ready?" she asked.

Several of their party, most noticeably Jaune, scrambled to grab their weapons.

When the group had settled, Winter nodded.

She threw open the door, and sirens sounded. They were so loud that Blake and Velvet gasped, folding their ears over even as they ran into the relic room with the rest of the party.

"Now!" Winter screamed at Oscar, taking up a defensive position because the boy as he scurried toward the relic. As everyone copied Winter's movements, the sound of boots slamming against the ground outside the door, which Neo had barricaded with a large piece of wood she'd brought.

Oscar scrambled to reach the relic, setting his hands on it and closing his eyes.

 _Come on, come on... I need you, Oz! How do I use this?!_ he screamed into his head.

He was met by silence.


	17. Surprise, Surprise!

Bodies threw themselves against the barricaded door, and students were pulled from their beds by Huntsmen and Huntresses, being told nothing but that there were intruders.

The Ace-Ops were the first ones through the door, and many froze at the sight in front of them. As they stopped, Neo threw her parasol at Marrow, striking him in the face. She hurriedly tapped Pyrrha's shoulder, and the Maiden drew Neo's weapon back to her through the use of her semblance.

Neo grinned, twirling her weapon in front of her daintily with one hand before beckoning Marrow toward her with the other.

"YOU!" Harriet shouted, eyes landing on Ruby with a burning hatred.

Ruby waved awkwardly.

"Uh... hi, again..."

Harriet raced across the room with her semblance, aiming at Ruby. Ruby jumped into action, using her own semblance to dart to the side. She held out her scythe to the side, and Harriet slammed against it at great speed.

Penny raised into the air, summoning her swords and knives.

"Please surrender," she said to a nearby group of Huntsmen and Huntress guards. They scoffed and hurried forward toward their party.

Penny's weapons shot toward them and several had to dive to the side or be hit in the arm or leg.

Yang clicked her weapons into place, gaze landing on Elm, whom she had fought the last time they'd faced the Ace-Ops.

Elm, however, glanced to the side at Clover. The two had a quick, and silent, exchange before Elm spun, planting her feet on the ground through the use of her semblance and slamming her hammer against the door and closing it, in the process hitting two Huntsmen in the face.

Clover shot his fishing pole out, grabbing onto Marrow as he attempted to charge at Neopolitan.

"Oscar, any day now!" Weiss cried, attempting to assist Ruby in her fight against Harriet, who seemed like she would stop at nothing to get her revenge.

"I'm trying! He's not **listening** to me!" Oscar screamed back.

He held his head with one hand and clutched the staff with his other.

 _Come on... COME ON!_ he screamed in his mind. Again, he was met with the deafening sound of silence.

Pyrrha and Penny both hovered over the makeshift battle field now, their eyes glowing red and green respectively.

Ciel was surrounded on all side, and she broke her gun in half, holding it in two directions. But there were too many. She gritted her teeth, preparing to take more than a few punches, but one of the Huntsmen suddenly turned on his friends, slamming the butt of their gun again the Huntress beside him before spinning and shooting the man beside him in the chest, breaking the man's Aura and causing him to fall to the ground, groaning. Ciel shot at the final two, driving them back.

The Huntsman that had helped her melting away, revealing the familiar form of Neo, who hurried to her side, parasol propped up against her own shoulder as she looked around warily.

The battle seemed to be going great for their side. In fact not a single member of their party seemed to have taken any serious injuries. Velvet was zipping around the room, using a myriad of weapons as she changed opponents to help her friends. At the moment, she had Neo's parasol drawn, which she slammed against a guard sneaking up on Fox. Neo grinned at the sight before turning to he Huntsmen that were now pushing their way through the door.

Elm had finally been knocked back, and Qrow steadied her by grabbing her shoulders. Once she was sure of her footing once against, Qrow disappeared in a flurry of feathers, reappearing a moment later, falling from the air with his scythe drawn. He slammed his feet against the first student, swinging his weapon and using its large reach to hit two more.

Behind Qrow, Clover swung his fishing pole overhead to gain momentum before shooting it out, grabbing an approaching Huntsman by the collar of his shirt and pulling him backward just before he could attack Qrow.

Qrow glanced over his shoulder at Clover, who gave him a wink as he kicked the Huntsman in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Blake and Ruby each held an end of the faunus' ribbon and raced across the room in a circle, tying up a large group of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Weiss stopped them from fighting back with a glyph under their feet, keeping them in place. Yang finished the job, jumping over them and dropping an explosive. When she landed, Ruby raced over, grabbing her sister, and carried her backward just as her bomb went off. The Auras of their opponents shattered instantly, and Blake tugged on her ribbon, spinning it so that the Huntsmen and Huntresses slammed against the wall, stacking up in a nice pile. Blake pulled harshly on her weapon, and the ribbon pulled back into her grasp as she spun to face their next opponent.

Nora zipped across the floor until she was underneath Penny.

"Now!" she yelled.

Penny glanced down, looking slightly unsure.

"Are you certain this will not harm you, Friend Nora?"

Nora nodded quickly, grinning like a lunatic.

Penny closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength, before she dropped to the ground, grabbing onto Nora's shoulder in a tight grasp. Suddenly, electricity shot from Penny and into Nora, so much so that had Penny done it to anyone else in the room, they would have fallen to the ground in agony.

Nora just let out a cry of excitement, shaking like a dog when it got wet.

"Thanks, Pen!" she said, tightening her grip on her hammer with a malicious smirk.

Penny nodded and then hurried back into the air, her knives fanning out behind her before shooting out in a myriad of directions and striking several of the approaching Atlas students and faculty.

Just let out a whoop of excitement before she darted forward. She swung her hammer behind her head before whipping it forward with speed she usually lacked. It **slammed** against the nearest Huntsmen, who flew backwards with such speed that he hit two more. As the three struck the ground, their Aura all broke, leaving them all laying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Nora grinned in excitement, spinning on her heel to face a few more Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"Who's next?!" she yelled.

Jaune and Ren were noticeably lacking from the fight, and Nora stood in front of the pair defensively. Jaune's hand was on Ren's shoulder, his Aura feeding into his boyfriend's. Ren cast the entirety of the room in a cover of gray. The two had been assigned this particular job due to the serious danger of summoning Grimm to the city would the emotions in this room to be sensed. It was a hard job, however, because Ren could already feel himself getting tired. He was not used to using his semblance this much, and he stumbled slightly, feeling dizzy. Jaune instantly reached out to steady him, guiding his boyfriend to the ground where the two sat down.

"Are you alright? Should we stop?" Jaune asked worriedly.

Ren shook his head, forcing himself to sit up straight.

"We can't, Jaune."

Due to Pyrrha hovering in the air, and her exceeding power level as not just a Maiden but one of the most renowned fighters in the world, Ilia let herself join the fight instead of defending her girlfriend, ending up beside Clover.

He looked over, grinning at her. He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair, making her slap his hand away.

"Glad you could make it, Colors," he said.

"You too, Lucky," she responded, slashing out with her weapon against driving the closest student backward.

The number of conscious, Aura-having people against them in the room diminished, and Elm raced to the door, using her semblance to steady her as she put her hands against it, just in case anyone else was coming to join the fight.

Only a few were still left fighting, and Ruby zipped around the room, grabbing various people and piling them up in the corner, making sure they were unconscious beforehand. She didn't want any of them to get any more hurt, but she also couldn't have them in the way.

She turned on her heel once she'd finished, finding that Nora had taken out the last two Huntsmen that were still fighting against them.

"Oscar, how's it going?" she called.

"Not well!" he snapped.

"Hurry up whatever you're doing, kid!" Elm shouted, "Someone's coming!"

"Not a surprise, Elm. There's a lot of people here," Qrow said sarcastically.

"No, something... else."

A form slammed against the door and Elm was thrown across the room.

Emerald stepped into the room, a malicious smirk on her face.

"You miss me?"

Tyrian laughed and he crawled in behind her, followed by Hazel and Mercury.

Oscar screamed in his head.

 _Come on, come on, COME ON!_ he screamed to Oz.

Everyone scrambled back to their fighting positions, and Pyrrha and Penny rose back into the air.

Emerald smirked.


	18. Maiden Voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Ruby scrambled back to join her teammates, her weapon in rifle form as she raised it, aiming at Emerald as the Maiden drifted forward.

Tyrian let out a gleeful, insane laugh as he scrambled forward, holding his tail in front of him as he moved forward. Qrow stepped in front of him, putting himself between Elm and the insane scorpion faunus. Clover joined him, followed by Ilia, and Tyrian looked between them, grinning.

Hazel hurried forward, trying to pass by the rest of the party to attack Oscar. Team RWBY and Nora stepped up in front of him.

"Don't even try it," Nora said, hefting her hammer with a smirk.

Team CFVY glanced at each other before they headed toward Mercury. They were going to fight him together, but quickly got separated as more Huntresses and Huntsmen hurried into the room to fight. Velvet stayed with Coco to fight Mercury while Fox and Yatsu started to fight the various intruders. Ciel and Neo went to do the same, but Neo got roped into helping Velvet and Coco when Mercury almost kicked Coco's face off.

Emerald glanced to the side, eyes landing on Ruby.

"Kill the red one first, Hazel."

"I'm going for the boy!" he snapped.

"You won't _live_ to kill him if she isn't dead!" Emerald snapped.

Hazel glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening slightly and nodding.

Her teammates stepped in front of Ruby defensively while Nora swung her hammer with surprising strength.

Hazel stumbled at the strength, eyes wide.

"Got a boost from a friend," she said.

Yang grabbed Nora's hand and threw her friend, letting her slam against the man with even more strength.

Hazel went flying across the room, but picked himself up, slamming dust into his arms and letting out a roar of rage.

 _Oz, please! We need to help them!_ Oscar thought desperately.

 _What?_ Oz asked.

Oscar let out a laugh of relief.

_I need your help with the staff! We need to move Atlas!_

_You want me to grab the staff and drop Atlas onto Mantle?_

_What?! NO! You need to drop it here!_ Oscar showed a mental picture of where they needed to move it.

_Are you certain you want to do this?_

_Yes! Now help me!_ Oscar snapped.

Oscar's eyes glowed yellow and his hands tightened on the staff.

"HOLD ON!" Oz's voice screamed at their party.

Weiss kneeled to the ground and slammed her rapier against it, summoning glyphs that steadied every member of their party.

Mercury and Tyrian were thrown to the side, and Clover used the opportunity to kick him as he flew past.

"Weiss, cover me!" Nora screamed. She took off, Nora summoning steadying glyphs under her feet as she went. Nora slammed against Hazel, drawing eve more strength from his lightning dust.

She took off, driving Hazel backwards with an unrelenting barrage of attacks.

"Nora, where are you going?!" Weiss asked, barely keeping up with her.

"Just trust me, Weiss!"

Weiss followed after her, teammates at her side as she took a few steps closer to Nora to keep the other girl in her range.

Nora kept driving Hazel back, as he was unstable due to the shifting Atlas beneath him. She drove him out of the room, barely avoiding different Huntsmen and Huntresses that were being thrown around by the shifting Atlas.

Nora threw herself toward him and Weiss gasped, barely getting another glyph under her.

"NORA!" she screamed.

She ignored Weiss and drove Hazel to the balcony, the glyph under her flickering slightly. She pulled her hammer back one final time before she slammed it against his chest, throwing him backwards.

He careened off the balcony in an arch, slamming against the ground and being shaken once more. Nora almost threw herself over the balcony, but his Aura broke, and Nora grinned.

She spun back around.

Her eyes landed on Pyrrha, who was currently helping Penny fight against Emerald.

"PYRRHA!" Nora screamed.

The redhead's eyes shot to her, and Nora held up her hammer.

Pyrrha's hand reached out in her direction, and Nora tightened her grip on her weapon, grasping it with both hands. Nora found herself pulled through the air toward her teammate. She slammed against Emerald's back, but she shot through it. An illusion.

Pyrrha continued to pull on Nora's hammer, swinging her in an arch toward another Emerald. This time, she did slam into the Maiden, who grunted. She turned her attention on Nora and raised her hand. Spears appeared around her, made of a dark black substance, and Ruby scrambled forward, Blake steadying her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Stay away from her!" Ruby screamed, eyes falling shut for a moment before they opened, blazing silver.

Emerald cried out in pain, and Tyrian scrambled across the room, attempting to hit Ruby. Blake and Yang stepped forward, but they weren't quick enough. Tyrian shot through the air, his tail raised. He was suddenly yanked backward by a fishing hook, Clover grinning as he dragged the faunus toward him.

"Did you think you could get away that easy? I thought you liked a good fight."

Qrow and Elm stepped up beside him, and Ilia raced by, slashing Tyrian as she did, and hurried toward Emerald. She attacked the Summer Maiden, but her weapon went right through her, causing Ilia to stumble in shock. Another illusion.

"Ilia, stay back!" Pyrrha snapped, her hand shooting out. Ilia felt herself being dragged by her sword and her belt clasp. She was about to protest, but a spear sliced through the air where she had just been, the real Emerald glared at Pyrrha for stealing Ilia.

Ilia looked at Pyrrha in surprise.

"Just stay back, I can't let you get hurt," Pyrrha called.

Ilia stumbled backward and watched as Penny drew her swords from her back, glaring at Emerald.

"Stay away from them!" she snapped.

Penny flew toward Emerald, shooting through her. Another illusion.

Emerald reappeared and her weapons flew at Penny.

Penny spun, eyes wide, and attempted to summon her own defensive weapons. She couldn't do it in time, and she threw her hands up in front of her, eyes squinting shut. Penny was thrown to the side a moment before Emerald's weapon could hit her. Penny's eyes shot open, and she saw Pyrrha's hand stretched out, drawing her closer.

Penny spun in midair, feeling Pyrrha's semblance drop her.

Emerald growled, and fifty versions of her appeared, all of them charging forward. Pyrrha and Penny readied themselves.

Penny's eyes suddenly widened before they shut. A moment later, one of her sword shot forward with impossible speed.

Emerald screamed, and Penny's eyes opened again.

Emerald's illusions flickered as she held her arm, the Grimm part showing now that her glove had been torn by Penny's attempt.

"How did you do that?" Pyrrha asked.

"I had heat signatures!" Penny responded excitedly.

Pyrrha grinned at her as Emerald summoned more of her illusions.

"Lead the way," she said.

Penny's eyes shut again, and she narrowed in on the real Emerald. Several knives shot forward, faster than before. Pyrrha had her hand stretched out, pushing Penny's weapons with her semblance. She didn't change their direction, but instead gave them a slight increase in speed.

Emerald threw up her own weapons, her black summoned swords attempting to block the attacks of her enemy Maidens.

Despite her attempts, several knives escaped her reach, some slashing her in different parts of her body. Emerald screamed again, eyes blazing again with both power and rage.

"You'll pay for that," she growled, taking a step forward.

"WEISS!" Oz's voice shouted.

"Everyone get ready!" Weiss screamed.

She summoned her glyphs once again, steadying her friends.

Nora didn't seem to realize, or perhaps she didn't care, that the city was going down. She ran across the room, skidding to a stop as she reached Jaune and Ren, who were both breathing in pants, their Auras flickering as they struggled to keep their semblances from dying.

Atlas slammed against the ground, and the Huntsmen and Huntresses not steadied by Weiss' glyphs were thrown asunder, some slamming against walls and others smacking the ceiling.

Nora bent down, thankful for the energy she'd absorbed from Penny and Hazel, and picked up Ren and Jaune.

"Nora?" Jaune asked, his voice sounding almost drunken. His hand slipped from Ren's shoulder as he was thrown over Nora's shoulder like a sack of flour.

"Just get some rest," Nora said, spinning around to face the rest of their party.

Ruby grabbed Weiss' hand, pulling the exhausted former heiress to her feet. She'd spent a lot of her Aura with those glyphs. Yang gently took Weiss from Ruby, holding her in a bridal carry and muttering something to her that Nora couldn't hear.

Pyrrha dropped to the ground and snatched onto Ilia's hand, eyes flickering over the faunus' body. She'd taken a few hits from Emerald, and her Aura had broken upon landing, when a Huntsman had collided with her and set her flying against a wall. Pyrrha grabbed her as Yang held Weiss, floating back into the air as if not trusting the ground after what had just happened.

Velvet was limping, her highly drained Aura causing her to breath heavily. Yatsu helped her up, looking as if he wasn't sure if he should carry her. Velvet must have assured him that she was fine, because he ended up not.

There should have been a cry of shock, or a scream of rage, or even a scream of denial, but there was only the frantic slamming of a parasol against the ground. Neo snapped her fingers rapidly, racing toward Nora and waving her hands.

"What? What's wrong?!" Nora asked, frowning in worry.

Neo gestured at a small form that lay crumpled against a wall only a little ways away.

It took Nora a moment to recognize who it was.

Ciel.

Neo gestured violently at Jaune, attempting to pry the knight from Nora's arm.

There were tears in the criminal's eyes, and Nora let Jaune only to the ground, but she didn't think it would do any good.

"What?" Jaune asked, sounded dazed.

Neo snatched onto his hand and dragged him across the room, gesturing at Ciel. She pointed at her wrist as if tapping a watch. Time. There wasn't much time.

Jaune still seemed dazed, and Penny hurried to his side, Winter's hand clutched in her own.

"Jaune, Ciel's hurt. Neo wants you to use your semblance!" she said, shaking him slightly.

Neo nodded vigorously, dropping to her knees and holding her hands together as if pleading.

Jaune's eyes cleared before widening. He staggered forward, setting a hand on Ciel's back. The girl didn't stir, and her breaths were so far apart that Nora had thought she was actually dead several times.

Neo's hand fumbled and she slid it into Ciel's own, squeezing it tightly.

She looked to Jaune, who seemed to be struggling. His Aura flickered around him, and he growled.

"Come on... Come on!" he yelled, one hand running through his hair in frustration.

"Students, we must go," Oz's voice broke the silence. His eyes blazed gold and he shook his head.

"No! We can't leave her!" Oscar said, grabbing his head in pain, sinking to his knees.

Ruby hurried to his side, helping him to his feet, but he still clutched his head.

"It's not working!" Jaune cried, his hand slipping from Ciel's back. Neo snatched out and grabbed his wrist, setting his palm on Ciel's back again with a mix of sorrow and anger in her eyes. Her grip was tight, but Jaune didn't try to escape.

"I... I can't! I can't do ANYTHING!" he bellowed.

Nora and Pyrrha hurried to his side.

"You can do this, Jaune!" Nora said.

"Your Aura is powerful. _You're_ powerful! You can do this, Jaune. You just have to stop doubting yourself."

Jaune growled in frustration and Neo gasped as Ciel went still, her chest stopping it's erratic movement. Neo shook her desperately, the scene far more horrifying with her lack of sound.

Neo stared at Jaune with anguish, and he thought he could almost hear her speak.

_'Please... please, I can't lose her!'_

Behind him, Emerald crawled to her feet, eyes blazing with hatred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... yeah... I... LiStEn... Don't kill me?


	19. Retreat

Emerald stumbled to her feet, summoning her swords with a light of vengeance in her one eye. The only eye that little BRAT hadn't stolen.

Her gaze fell on Ruby, and she pointed her weapons at her, pausing.

Mercury swooped forward, grabbing her around the waist.

"Sometimes, you just gotta count your loses, sugar," he said, racing out of the room.

Emerald went to scream, but he covered her mouth.

"That's not a battle you're gonna win," he said, rounding the corner and searching for an exit. Tyrian scrambled after him, noticeably lacking a tail.

-

Back inside, Jaune's hands shook. He was exhausted, and he could barely keep himself sitting up. He should just give up. He was a disappointment. He was never strong enough for this... he never should have wasted his teammates' time and made them think that he could help...

He was worthless. There was only thing he could do right, and he couldn't even do it right!

Nora stooped down, putting herself face level.

"Are you thinking about using your semblance?" she asked.

Jaune nodded desperately.

"Good!"

She leaned forward and crashed their lips together.

There were several things that happened during their kiss. Jaune's attention was split between two things, and he found himself not overthinking his semblance for the first time since he'd sat down. Jaune found himself reminded that he had done something right in his life; he'd gotten the most beautiful, most wonderful, most insane woman in the world to fall in love with him. He was shocked back awake at the contact... and his hand flickered with a bright white light.

Neo gasped, eyes widening and shooting to Ciel's face.

There was a moment of silence, and Neo realized it was too late.

Her eyes filled with tears again and she threw herself forward, grabbing Ciel and burying her face against her, crying silently.

Nora kept her eyes open while she kissed Jaune, though his had fallen shut.

Her heart sunk, and she moved to pull back, until-

Ciel took a shaking breath, her body wracking with a loud cough as her eyes fluttered open.

Neo jumped and shot up, her hands fumbling to grab Ciel's face.

Ciel felt Neo pull her in for a tight hug, though not too tight for fear that she might hurt her, and Ciel tried to think. Her mind was hazy, and the last thing she could remember was...

That's right!

Atlas had been coming in for a crash landing, and Neo had been fighting against Tyrian, distracting the scorpion faunus for a moment so that Clover, Elm, and Qrow could get a short reprieve.

Tyrian had slashed forward with his tail, and Ciel had thrown herself in front of Neo, leaving the glyph that Weiss had provided for her. Tyrian's tail had sunk into her skin and she'd screamed in pain before being thrown against the wall as Atlas struck the ground.

Neo had sliced Tyrian's tail off as they'd landed before racing to Ciel's side, which she had seen through hazy, unfocused eyes. The last thing she'd seen before blacking out was Neo sliding beside her on the ground and calling for help with her parasol.

Ciel blinked in an attempt to clear her vision. Neo was still weeping, but she was smiling, holding Ciel's hand now as she looked down at her.

Ciel tried to sit, but she let out a cry of pain and fell back. Neo caught her in gently arms.

Neo pulled one hand back and put a hand to her chest before putting it against Ciel's.

It wasn't the right way to say it in sign language, but Ciel put it together easily.

'I love you.'

"I love you too," she said between coughs.

Nora pulled back from kissing Jaune, a smug smirk on her face.

Jaune's eyes fluttered open and his gaze shot to Ciel. He let out a whoop of excitement and put both of his hands on her, his Aura slipping into her own and powering it.

She took a deep breath and groaned, hand reaching up to her rib cage and holding it tenderly.

"GUYS! We gotta go!" Ruby cried.

She skidded to a halt, eyes wide.

"Is... is she-"

"Okay? No. Alive? Probably," Ciel said, groaning as she tried to stand. Neo shepherded her to her feet, grabbing Jaune's hand and keeping it against Ciel's side.

Ruby let out a breath of relief, but it was short lived as shouts from outside interrupted the celebration for the group.

Neo swooped Ciel into her arms, glancing at Jaune worriedly.

“She’ll be fine. Her healing with be slow until I can,” he stumbled, “recharge.”

Neo nodded and pulled Ciel closed to her chest before taking off at a sprint. As if her movement had unfrozen everyone, Yang and Ruby followed, tugging Blake into her arms and using her semblance to race ahead of the group and check the halls.

“Uh, guys? We’ve got company!” Ruby called.

“We’re too injured, we have to run for it!” Yang cried.

Ruby glanced over the beaten up members of the room and nodded, doing a quick head count and being grateful that everyone was alive, if not on their own feet.

Qrow helped Clover up, raising an eyebrow as the man grinned.

“What’re you smiling for? You almost got your head chopped off.”

“We won didn’t we?” Elm asked, grinning as well.

Qrow sighed, shaking his head with a small smile.

“You two are idiots.”

Nora threw a dazed Jaune over her shoulder and ran, chasing after Pyrrha.

The group was able to make it out of Atlas Academy, but, as expected, they gained a large tail, who chased them through the streets.

“Which way is it?!” Yang yelled up at her sister, who had paused at the next turn, Blake in her arms, to glance back at the party and make sure everyone was keeping up.

“This way!” Ruby yelled, pointing to the right. She watched everyone pass until the final member, Oscar, ran by, panting.

“Keep up, Oscar!” Nora cried from further up, carrying both Ren and Jaune with ease.

Ruby rounded the corner after everyone, carrying Blake with her through her semblance, and made sure the chasers were far behind.

-

Whitley crouched outside, pulling his jacket closer. It was almost two in the morning, and he was starting to think that Oscar had purposefully told him the wrong time so that he wouldn’t do anything stupid... like he was doing now, he supposed.

That is, he was worried until about fifteen minutes ago, when the ground had lurched beneath his feet and he had had to throw himself against the gate to keep ground flying across the street. An earthquake? In Atlas? No, the city had been purposefully moved, and Whitley was willing to bet he knew who had caused it.

Just as Whitley was considering going inside and disregarding this entire stupid plan-

“She’s up there!” an unfamiliar, high pitched called.

A blur of red petals appeared a moment later, a girl in a flowing red cloak appeared, clutching a taller girl who Whitley couldn’t entirely see in the dark.

Just a blink of the eye later, a large group came racing by at full speed. The first person he saw was a criminal he’d seen on the news for months now (was it Cleo something?) followed by a tall blond, who held someone in her arms-

“Weiss?!” Whitley cried in shock.

The girl stirred and looked to the side, blinking in the dark.

“Huh? Whitley?” she asked. She tapped the girl carrying her on the shoulder, causing the blond to skid to a stop.

“Get inside, it’s not safe!” Weiss ordered.

“Of course,” Whitley said easily.

Weiss and the other girl took off a moment later, followed by a myriad others Whitley had seen on the news, almost all of them either wanted or missing.

Whitley considered his options in his head for a moment before he took off at a sprint, joining the middle of the group and gaining a bunch of odd looks.

“Do we have another member or have I just never noticed this kid?” a woman asked.

“He’s new,” a rabbit faunus (a faunus?!) responded, panting as she struggled to keep up. The tall man beside her didn’t pause, but scooped her into his arms as he ran, making her squeak in surprise.

“Thanks, Yatsu,” the woman with the large purse called.

Whitley dropped back slightly, unable to keep up, and found himself at the back of the group, right next to-

“Whitley?!” Oscar cried.

Whitley gave him a small smirk.

“What are you doing here?!”

“A man has the right to check in on his family and boyfriend, does he not?”

“It’s too dangerous!” Oscar said between breaths, “Go back home!”

“I thought we’d discussed that I was tired of being told what to do.”

Oscar looked conflicted for a moment before he groaned, grabbing Whitley’s hand in his own and picking up the pace, pulling the heir along behind him.

“Fine... Fine!” Oscar said with a groan.

Whitley grinned.

-

Ruby skidded to a halt, almost hitting the wall of the airship.

“Maria! Start the plane!” she cried.

The old woman jumped, having dozed off, and her hands darted across the controls.

“Tell me when everyone’s on board!”

Neo jumped inside, hurrying to the seats and laying Ciel down across a few of them. Ciel was asleep again now, but her breathing, almost a bit raspy, came at an even, predictable pace.

Many more joined the airship after them, and Ruby dashed around to count them all. She found two more than expected, but there had always been a chance of Elm and Clover coming with, she supposed.

That just left-

Oscar jumped on board, hauling another boy on board. That made everyone!

“GO!” Ruby shouted, spinning Crescent Rose and converting it into rifle form, shooting at a few of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that were chasing after them, making them slow.

The hatch closed a few moments later, and they were airborne.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, dropping down onto the floor beside Blake and Yang. Only the injured were allowed to take the real seats, by a silent agreement from the party. The only exception was Neo, who was seated by Ciel head as she ran a hand over her shoulders and head gently, watching her with a mixture of love and worry, as if she wasn’t completely convinced that Ciel would be alright.

Whitley glanced around the room, and Winter sat up straight.

“Whitley?!”

Weiss struggles to sit up as well, and Yang helped her.

“I told you to stay home!” Weiss snapped.

“An odd way to say ‘why, dearest brother, I’ve missed you.’”


	20. Probably

"How did he get here? What's going on?" Winter asked, staring at her younger brother.

"He's...," Oscar sighed, running a hand through his hair, "coming with us."

"No, he's not. We're dropping him off back at the mansion. Maria!" Winter called.

"No turning around, Schnee number two. We need every second of distance between us and the Atlas military airships that will be following us," Maria responded.

Whitley smirked, crossing his arms.

"What are you going to do now? Throw me out of the airship?"

Weiss and Winter looked at each other for a long moment.

"You can't do that," Oscar said quickly.

Whitley watched his sisters with wide eyes.

"We let Neo join, so what's wrong with the kid?" Coco asked.

Whitley's face drained of the little color it had. He recognized the name, if not the criminal's face.

" _That's_ **Neopolitan**?!"

Neo glanced up and gave him a wave as if to say _'sup.'_

He slowly waved back, but Neo had already turned her attention to Ciel again.

Jaune was alseeep across from the pair, and Nora was sitting between him and Ren, who was clearly sore.

"What happened to your... friends?" Whitley asked Oscar.

"We were just in a fight," he said, shrugging.

"A fight?! With who?!"

"Atlas."

"Who in Atlas?"

"He means the Atlas military, and the students, and Salem's forces of infinite evil and death," Coco said.

Whitley's eyes widened, and he glanced at Oscar.

"We told you to stay home," Weiss said, sighing as she rolled over in her seats and putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

Whitley glanced at his sister and raised an eyebrow, but Weiss didn't seem to notice.

"What's that?" Whitley asked, glancing at the staff in Oscar's hand.

"Literally only one of the four items standing between humanity and doom," Yang said.

Whitley's eyes widened as Oscar nodded awkwardly.

"Yeah..."

Whitley sighed in frustration before taking a seat on the ground, having been guided toward it by Oscar. He couldn't remember the last time he'd fast on the floor. Had he ever? He glanced at his sister's.

Winter was leaning against another girl, who glanced at her with concerned eyes.

"Are you okay, Girlfriend Winter?" she asked.

Whitley's eyes widened and his gaze shot to Winter.

"Girlfriend Winter? I didn't know you were dating someone," Whitley said.

Winter grimaced just barely, giving Penny a look.

"See? This is why I told you that saying Girlfriend Winter every time is unnecessary. Now it's awkward and I have to talk to my smug brother."

Penny frowned, looking down slightly.

"I apologize, Gi-" Penny hesitated and Winter sighed, sliding her hand into Penny's.

"Never mind. Go ahead."

Penny smiled widely and moved closer, setting her head on Winter's shoulder.

Winter turned to Whitley, raising an eyebrow as she looked at his hand, which was holding Oscar's still.

"Neither did I."

Whitley stared back at her, neither backing down.

"Just introduce him to Penny, she's dying over there," Yang said.

Winter glanced at her girlfriend, who was bouncing up and down excitedly as she stared at Whitley. Winter sighed.

"Whitley, this is my girlfriend, Penny Polendina."

"Penny Polendina? Isn't that the...," Whitley trailed off. He suddenly realized why he recognized Penny.

"The protector of Mantle?" Winter nodded, giving Penny a small smile.

"That's it! That's the look!" Yang said excitedly, pointing at Winter.

Ruby and Blake laughed while Weiss huffed.

"I don't make that look."

"I literally have a picture of it, Weiss," Yang said.

"It's in the lockets," Blake added.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"You should have gotten a better picture of me."

"Aww, but you look so pretty in it!" Ruby said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Coco said, waving her hands, "What look?"

"The look of a Schnee in love!" Ruby said.

"Show me a picture," Coco said.

Yang grinned and pulled out her scroll. It was passed around team CFVY, who burst out laughing.

Oscar saw the look on Whitley's face and grabbed the scroll, showing him the two pictures side by side.

His eyes widened as he saw both of his sisters looking almost identical.

He flushed, glaring at Oscar.

"Is that why you took a picture?!"

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh... maybe?"

Yang laughed.

"Yeah! I have it saved too!"

The three Schnees all sighed.

"Wait. Winter's dating Penny, but Weiss... who are you dating?" Whitley asked. He found that he was actually intrigued. He hadn't spent enough time with his _good_ family members lately... or perhaps ever.

Ruby raised her hand excitedly, waving at Whitley.

"Hi! My name's Ruby Rose!"

Whitley stared at her.

Yang shoved her sister, rolling her eyes.

"She doesn't get Weiss all to herself. That idiot's my sister. My name's Yang Xaio Long."

Whitley frowned in confusion, trying to put things together.

"Wait, you're dating two sisters?"

"Not quite," Blake said. She had an awkward air to her voice, and her body language only seemed to highlight that. Her shoulders were slumped and she waved at him shyly, ears were down turned-

Wait, ears? Cat ears?

"You're dating... her too?"

Weiss put a hand on her rapier threateningly.

Whitley's eyes widened.

"Yes."

Weiss raised a hand to her locket around her neck, playing with it almost idly.

"That's... surprising."

Ruby grinned at him, nodding.

"We get that a lot!"

The blond, Yang, he had heard her called, suddenly gasped.

"Weiss... Weiss!"

"What do you want now?" she asked sufferingly.

"I just realized something else about Schnees."

"Of course you did."

"None of you are straight!" she cried.

There was a beat of silence before Weiss burst out laughing. Blake and Ruby started snickering.

"Does straight have another meaning I'm not aware of?" Penny asked Winter, frowning.

Winter was blushing slightly, and she nodded.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered.

"You know what? I'm starting to think that Marrow fellow was right about kids," Qrow said. He lifted his flask to take a drink, then hesitated. He let it slip from his fingers and hit the floor, looking away from it as the flask rolled away.

Elm and Clover grinned at him.

"Yeah, maybe. Some of them can be pretty alright, I guess," Clover said, reaching a hand out and ruffling Ilia's hair. She and Pyrrha were sat beside the three former members of the Ace-Ops, and the chameleon faunus swatted at his hand playfully.

"Whatever," she muttered.

Pyrrha grinned at the exchange. It had been a while since she'd seen Ilia smile like that at someone. She didn't smile at anyone else like she did at Clover. The smile she reserved for Pyrrha was different from the one she had for the former leader of the Ace-Ops, because she looked at him just almost like one would look at a parent.

"I... really hate to ruin the moment," Oscar said slowly.

"Then don't," Coco said, "We've had enough crap for one day. At least wait until everyone's conscious."

Coco gestured at Ren, Jaune, and Ciel, who were all still asleep.

"But this is important," Oscar said nervously.

"So is rest. Half an hour won't kill us...," Coco considered, "probably."

Whitley looked around at the mismatched group and considered the woman's offhanded comment of them maybe dying in the next thirty minutes.

 _Maybe... I should have listened to Weiss and Oscar,_ Whitley thought.

He glanced at Oscar, who was fiddling with his fingers worriedly.

Whitley slipped his hand into Oscar's, threading their fingers together.

_Never mind. I'm glad I came._

The airship hit a big burst of turbulance.

"Sorry! That won't happen again... probably!" Maria called from the front.

 _Okay, I **probably** won't regret this,_ Whitley thought.


	21. The Threat

Oscar had given Coco her half hour. But that time, much like many other things in their lives, was over. Ciel, Jaune, and Ren were awake. Jaune had taken a seat next to Ciel and used his semblance some more, healing her enough that Neo could no longer feel the cracked ribs in her girlfriend's chest.

They were all seated now, some on the actually seats and some having to sit on the floor, because, like most airships, this one wasn't made to have so many people in it.

"What are we gonna do now?" Oscar finally asked.

The entire airship fell silent as they look at each other or Oscar.

"Does... does Oz have a plan?" Ruby asked quietly.

Oscar shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

"I guess we could go after the Sword of Destruction. It's at... where is it again?" Yang asked.

"Shade Academy," Oscar said.

"But having three relics together would probably be... bad, right?" Ruby asked.

"Better than letting her get one of them," Weiss said.

"What about the one at Beacon?" Velvet asked.

"She won't go near there. There's too many Grimm there. They're being drawn to the giant Grimm that Ruby froze," Blake responded.

Oscar was about to respond, but he felt his scroll starting to buzz in his pocket. As if as one, every person in the airship pulled their scrolls from their pockets and looked at the incoming message.

Ruby almost dropped her scroll as a horrifyingly familiar face appeared. The black tendrils shooting from the equally empty eyes was a dead giveaway, alongside the exceedingly pale features.

"Salem," Ruby breathed.

"Why must you keep having others fight your battles for you, Ozma?" her voice drawled, amplifying and echoing through the airship as it played through everyone's scrolls. "Or why you insist on sacrificing the innocent for your sins," she continued, "but I could care less. Either you meet me at my keep in exactly six days...," she smirked, "or I destroy Atlas. Although," she paused and put a contemplative hand to her lip, tapping it with her finger, "it seems like that would be your fault twice, considering you set them down within the reach of my Grimm. Ah, well, that's in the past, I suppose."

She stared into her scroll pointedly, and Oscar felt himself starting to shake.

"All that matters is the future."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah! That's it! This was always supposed to be the shortest part of my series. After this, the next one will, as you can tell, be a bit more... serious. But after that, I'll be able to move on and get some fluff! (for any characters that live through it, that is........)


End file.
